Concepts and prototypes : MG Rover RDX60 (2000-2005)

Keith Adams tells the full story of the ill-fated MG Rover RDX60 programme and explains how Longbridge tried to create a new medium-sized car from the underpinnings of the Rover 75, with a little help from TWR and not enough money.

As we’ll see, there was promise, but that was never going to get it across the line without serious outside help.


MG Rover RDX60: the last chance saloon

MG Rover: it was a brave new beginning for the remnants of the Rover Group, split up and sold off by BMW in May 2000. The consortium responsible for the formation of MG Rover – Phoenix – was led by John Towers, and if anyone knew the machinations of Longbridge better than anyone else, it was he…

Being responsible for the Rover Group at the time it was suffering from the severe financial pressures foisted upon it by parent company, British Aerospace (BAe), gave Towers a unique insight to what the company could deliver on a very small budget. If the Rover 400 (HH-R) was an example of how not to work with a collaborative partner, the 200 (R3) and MGF (PR3) were perfect examples of what Rover Engineers could come up with, given a few basic ingredients and some inspiration.

Although Rover’s trio of new cars for 1995 could be considered the products of a car company under severe financial pressure, two of them were innovative and desirable and, had it not been for the questionable pricing policy of a company with designs on becoming a premium class marque (but with a range of products possessing not quite enough strength in depth), they could have gone on to become huge successes in their classes.

As it was, these cars were launched after Rover had become firmly embedded under BMW’s wing and, as a result, they were always going to be seen as stopgaps until the BMW-financed range of new Rovers came on stream in 2002 and 2003. As it was, we all know the cruel set of events that befell the 200 and 400 – they became the 25 and 45 in 1999, and ended up living a lot longer than intended, as BMW decided to pull the plug on its British operations.

So, it was ironic that John Towers now found himself in charge of a car company selling that very same range of cars he oversaw the launch of all those years previously.

Project R30: gone, but not forgotten…

Of course, it was a mid-sized car MG Rover would need to produce in order to maintain its survival, and much work had been undertaken on such a project during the BMW era.

Autocar's depiction of how the Rover 35/55 was destined to look, and according to one stylist on the team, it was 'pretty close' to what Gaydon achieved...
Autocar’s depiction of how the Rover 35/55 was destined to look – according to one Stylist on the team, it was ‘pretty close’ to what Gaydon achieved

The Rover R30 had been designed and developed to replace the 25 and 45 and, had BMW still been in charge of Rover, the car, badged as the Rover 35 and 55, would have gone on sale in 2003. The car is said to have been designed with the same engineering values as the Rover 75, meaning it would have been styled with a nod to the ‘British retro’ that German management so loved about Rover.

Richard Woolley headed the Design Team and, although he has never publicly spoken about the R30, other Designers have – they have all said the design was beautiful in the same way the 75 managed to be, but in a slightly less overtly retro way.

The platform was all new and, although K-Series engines were to power the Rover 35/55 until 2005/6, these would be replaced by brand new ‘Valvetronic’ engines manufactured at BMW’s Hams Hall facility, a factory built to meet the huge anticipated demands for in-line four-cylinder engines.

MG Rover’s big dilemma

The R30 project had progressed to the point of productionisation, but by 1999, BMW upper management had decided to question its involvement with Rover and, although the project wasn’t cancelled at this point, its future became ever more precarious. Once Bernd Pischetsrieder was forced to walk away from BMW, the writing was well and truly on the wall – and, even though the UK Government eventually decided to offer BMW state aid to help develop Longbridge (thereby ensuring R30 production there), BMW’s will to continue had melted away. That freeze became something altogether more terminal once the Board had decided to wash its hands of Rover…

When BMW walked away from Longbridge, and handed over the business to Phoenix, it took the R30 with it, along with all of its CAD/CAM data, engineering prototypes and anything else relating to the project. According to one BMW executive based at the company’s headquarters in Munich, the completed car languishes in the basement there, to this day – unused and not needed.

Left with no products in development (apart from the 75 Tourer), MG Rover was left in the unenviable position of having to develop a brand new mid-sized range of car to replace a pair that had been in production (albeit having benefited from the 1999 facelifts) since 1995. Making something from that was going to be a tall order.

Make way for RDX60 – the brave new world…

Peter Stevens' team penned these designs - and as can be seen, the split level floor Tourer idea had been there since the RDX60's birth.
Peter Stevens’ team penned these designs – and, as can be seen, the split-level floor Tourer idea had been there since the RDX60’s birth

MG Rover would have to start with a clean sheet of paper for its new small car and, although a few of the Engineers who worked on R30 and Rover 55 made the move to Longbridge to work for the new company, they would be unable to call on any aspects of the impressively complete R30.

Having seen how it was possible to produce a ‘new’ car by dipping into the corporate parts bin (the Rover 200 (R3) has been described by several Engineers as little more than an Rover 200/400 (R8) with Austin Maestro rear suspension tacked on), the logical decision taken was to try the same course of action yet again – this time using the larger, heavier 75 as a donor car for a new mid-liner.

Given its strengths, and the fact that it had been designed in the ‘money no object’ era of BMW’s ownership, it was the only way forward. Schemes were soon pieced together and drawn up and, under the leadership of John Tweedy (former Project Director on Project Oyster – Rover 45), Project RD60 was born. The project names were split into RD60 (three- and five-door Rover hatchback), X60 (three- and five-door MG hatchback), RD61 (four-door Rover saloon) and RD62 (five-door Rover Tourer).

The Rover 75 solution

RD60 was heavily 75 based, and would use the car’s platform with no change of wheelbase, although the expensive BMW-derived Z-Axle rear suspension would go, if the car was to be price competitive within the market sector it was designed for.

The months following the formation of MG Rover had been busy ones, and RD60 development was hampered by the need to get the 75 Tourer into production, and the introduction of the MG ‘Zed’ range of cars (seen as a vital step in maintaining the sales buoyancy of a rapidly ageing range of body styles). Most importantly, RD60’s development was constrained by MG Rover’s almost complete lack of resources.

It wasn’t just about money. With the former Rover Group broken up in 2000, MG Rover found itself without Gaydon – the facility where all design work had been concentrated since the closure of Canley in the mid-1990s.

Designing with a tiny team

Gaydon had gone to Ford as part of BMW’s £1.6bn sale of Land Rover, but the loss was deeper than that: the facility went to Ford, but a great number of Rover’s Gaydon-based design and engineering staff also chose to stay there – thus moving into Ford’s employ…

This left MG Rover with a relatively tiny Design Department, based in Longbridge’s newly-created Product Design Centre (PDC). For a vitally important project like RD60, it was felt by management that the PDC would need extra resources – and, in a time when cash was at a premium, this kind of investment would be almost impossible to achieve.

Going back to what it knew best, it was decided that what was needed was a third-party contractor, and from the rich seam of engineering design consultancies that litter the British car industry, Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) was chosen.

Given its previous tie-ups with Jaguar, Renault and Volvo (among others), TWR had an impressive record of delivering niche products for major car manufacturers, so it seemed a safe partner for MG Rover to choose. TWR had also recently strengthened its position by the acquisition of Worthing Technical Centre, formerly owned and operated by Daewoo. If only it had known…

Longbridge and TWR progress rapidly

 RDX60 revealed in CAD/CAM: this D1 scheme produced by TWR (see key dates, above) reveals that the car wasn't necessarily going to be as boxy as the Tourer Concept vehicle and the other concepts so far revealed, and that it could have ended up with an elegant SD1-style roofline and Alfa Romeo-like concealed rear door handles. It made it to full-size mock-up stage, too...
RDX60 revealed in CAD/CAM: this D1 scheme produced by TWR (see key dates, below) reveals that the car wasn’t necessarily going to be as boxy as the Tourer Concept vehicle and the other concepts so far revealed, and that it could have ended up with an elegant SD1-style roofline and Alfa Romeo-like concealed rear door handles. It made it to full-size mock-up stage, too…
MG Rover RDX60 prototype
In January 2002, and after a great deal of preliminary work on the RD60 (and its MG brother, the X60, hence the project becoming known as the RDX60) had been completed at the Longbridge PDC, TWR was contracted to help with the development programme

Work on RDX60 progressed at a feverish pace, and the style began to crystallise – with the Styling Team coming up with a number of proposals, which majored on producing a versatile and spacious package – something harking back to the company’s heritage.

Such was the speed and efficiency of the development programme (which saw TWR in Worthing replicate the management structure at the Longbridge PDC – for the sake of efficiency), many suppliers completed virtual builds and had made prototype parts within months of the collaboration being instigated.

Tooling was completed

One Engineer, who worked on the RDX60 programme, said: ‘Some press tooling was completed and many suppliers had commenced production tooling for the three- and five-door version of RDX60. TWR was also well advanced with CAD proposals for the four-door and Tourer specific parts.’

Although RDX60 was initially projected as three- and five-door hatchback, with anticipated build being spilt 30 per cent to MG and 70 per cent to Rover, the saloon four-door and Tourer versions were announced in March 2002.

With RDX60 being produced in four separate body styles, the marketing mix proposed at the time was an interesting one: the hatchbacks would wear MG badges, while the saloon and Tourer would be sold as Rovers. Competitor benchmarks chosen at the time, in terms of refinement, were the Golf Mk4 for the Rover, and Alfa Romeo 147 for the MG.

Styled to lose?

The styling is said to have been settled around this time. One Engineer involved on the programme said: ‘I’d been tipped off by an Engineer, who had seen the RDX60 at the TWR Design Centre, that the car looked interesting. Apparently, Kevin Howe had overruled Peter Stevens and chosen the final design over some much more stylish options.’

He added mischievously: ‘From my experience, I’ve leaned that when Styling Departments present a number of design themes for Directors to choose one for development, they usually already know which one they want, and present a couple of lame ducks as alternative options, thus increasing the chances of their ‘favourite’ being chosen. To me, it sounded that had such a plan been pursued, but had backfired.’

An Engineer who saw the first CAD/CAM representation in a presentation was underwhelmed. He said: ‘Myself and the other Engineers were predictably very excited about seeing for the first time the new car that would save MG Rover. When the CAD projector was turned on and the Engineer manipulated the view around, there was a very quiet, disappointed murmur amongst those getting their first look at the car.’

The visual horror

He continued: ‘It was horrible! We were looking at the MG three-door hatchback, supposedly the ‘sexiest’ looking variant. The blue ‘spy shot’ shown in Autocar was a very good representation of what we saw. It appeared to have a very tapered coupe-style rear with the ‘sit-up-and-beg’ front end of a pickup truck, similar to TCV. It was truly awful – clearly the result of ‘design by committee’, with several conflicting requirements. The interior looked quite stylish though, with ‘hidden until lit’ symbols on all the switchgear.’

MG Rover RDX60 prototype
The five-door RD60, which showed just how quickly the company was moving away from the conservative style, as typified by the 75 range. Of course, it wasn’t as pretty as it could have been…

Impressed by TWR’s work, MGR awarded TWR Automotive Engineering (Worthing) with the complete project in January 2002. This meant TWR would not just be responsible for the RDX60 engineering programme, but also purchasing and project management of costs and targets. The cost benefits of CAD/CAM soon became apparent, as there would be no physical prototype trial builds, as many parts could go directly from the CATIA system to off-production tool build. This saw the first prototype (a five-door hatchback) completed in February 2003.

TWR was ostensibly in charge of the project, but working with Longbridge slowed down the process, as decisions were referred back to the Worthing’s counterparts at MGR PDC. It was at this time that concerns over cost containment began to surface – TWR Purchasing rarely challenged design changes or cost (something that happened a lot at Gaydon with the R40 and R50 programmes) and this inevitably led to the project going over budget. In fact, it was at this point, that the D1 Build Phase (see table below) was put back to September 2003.

The three-month freeze

In January 2003, the project was frozen for a three-month ‘Cost and Weight Review’, and MGR Engineers on the RDX60 were invited to cost/weight reduction workshops together with their counterparts from TWR. However, these never took place thanks to more seismic events taking place at TWR. During the project freeze period, TWR went into administration.

In the period leading up to TWR being placed into administration, much work had been completed. Although talks with carmaker China Brilliance Industrial Holdings (CBIH) on the possibility of a Joint Venture between the two companies had been progressing nicely, MGR management confirmed that deal did not hold the key to RDX60’s introduction, merely that its formation would be a financial bonus.

The fact that no CBIH executives ever became closely involved in the design phase of the RDX60 indicates this state of affairs to be true, although the introduction of the saloon concept was obviously a nod to Chinese tastes…

China Brilliance talks fall through

MG Rover RDX60 prototype
The failure of CBIH talks were not the killer blow to the RDX60 (in fact useful extra funds had been extracted from the Chinese in the process), but it was a situation that desperately focused MGR’s minds on the need to find a collaborative partner before the funds dried up for good…

TWR’s closure was a massive and probably fatal blow to the RDX60 programme. MGR was forced to settle a considerable sum of money with TWR’s Administrators just to ensure that all CAD data was released to Longbridge but, of course, much of the important modelling work had been lost.

Personnel and resources, which had underpinned the RDX60’s transition from paper to reality had also, tragically, been lost for good. As TWR is said to have represented £100m of a total R&D spend of £460m between 2000 and 2004 (as quoted by John Towers in April 2004), its closure had huge implications.

Impetus on the RDX60 programme had been well and truly lost following TWR’s fall into administration. ‘Cost and Weight Reduction’ (C&W) workshops finally commenced in July 2003 under MGR management, but these were never followed-up with suppliers (who were closely involved in the programme up to this point). MGR management soon began to stall third parties, citing problems with TWR as the reason for delays.

MG Rover RDX60: still no prototypes

By this stage, no prototypes (using production tooling) had been constructed, so the whole cost and weight exercise was performed ‘virtually’ using CATIA CAD models of the car projected on to a large screen, using calculations to figure out how much C&W was being removed and the potential investment required.

The C&W programme was judged a success, as one insider related: ‘About a dozen Longbridge Engineers from different disciplines worked on the C&W workshop at the TWR Engineering site in Worthing for a couple of days. Based on our calculations, a considerable amount of excess cost and weight could be removed from the car, meaning its development could potentially continue.’

However, nothing happened on the RDX60 engineering programme after this. ‘The project was never resumed after TWR went into insolvency. Its profitable Vehicle Engineering arm had been dragged down by the money pit of Tom Walkinshaw’s Arrows Formula 1 team. Later, the word got around Longbridge that TWR’s Administrators were preventing MGR from accessing the CAD data and models for the new car.’

TWR loss: a disaster

The Engineers on the project were genuinely upset to lose TWR. One said: ‘It was very sad to end the working relationship with the TWR guys. The Engineers were brilliant to work with and it was awful for some who had been made redundant by Daewoo, then re-hired by TWR, then made redundant again.

The vast majority of TWR Engineers who worked on RD60, based at Downlands Business Park (Worthing) were made redundant in January/February 2003, (although, prior to that, a lot of CAD Designers were made redundant in November 2002, which we thought was strange as RD60 was in full swing then).’ According to one supplier in Germany: ‘I speak for many exterior suppliers in saying that there were absolutely no official discussions or development meetings since July 2003 regarding the RDX60.’

Frustratingly, by this point in its design programme, the RDX60 was very much a viable project. One insider related its chances: ‘Had the project proceeded at the point the C&W programme had been initiated, a start of production by summer 2004 for the three- and five-door was certainly achievable.’

RDX60 design finally unveiled…

MG Rover RDX60
The car that wowed the dealers in November 2003.

The Longbridge Conference Centre on 3 November 2003, saw the RDX60 have its first airing outside of the Longbridge Design Centre. Various conferences were held for dealers, suppliers and key employees. At these events, it was openly advised that MGR was continuing its search for a new Chinese partner (following the collapse of the Brilliance deal).

According to one Engineer: ‘A fully-built undisguised RD60 was driven onto the MGR Conference Centre stage and was described in detail by Peter Stevens. I really do wonder whether this car has survived the MGR meltdown, as it sounded like it had a KV6 engine in it.

‘It definitely wasn’t put together from genuine RDX60 supplier parts, so I guess it was some kind of consultancy product, like the 75 Coupe Concept. But it was recognisable [as being] directly related to the TWR concept in terms of door architecture, being more of a tweak from that car, rather than the radical stuff revealed to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) in 2005.’

TCV Concept for the road

On the style of the 2003 conference car, he continued: ‘The best description of the green MG five-door is a distinctive waist feature as per the TCV concept, with the side windows and doors also very much carried over from that car. The front end had been evolved, and it was more like the red car seen in Autocar (pictured below) but with an MG grille, as presented on the 2004 facelift 25/45/75.

‘My memory is a little sketchy about the rear, but I remember it did not look as radical as the TCV. The contour on the boot looked like the Golf Mk3 and the rear lights looked more conventional than the Lexus-style TCV ones. Wheels were taken straight from the TCV, and it had gained Rover 75 facelift-style front indicator lights slashed into the bumper.’

He continued: ‘The interior was very Judge Dredd – aggressive and angular – and looked too wacky for me.’

MG Rover RDX60
The Judge Dredd interior in all its glory…

Testing staggers on

A Rover 45-based engineering ‘mule’ was constructed during the time to test RDX60 systems, and was seen testing regularly at the Gaydon proving grounds (obviously owned by Ford, but available to MGR). John Towers confirmed this car’s existence in April 2005, but confirmed what the suppliers had been led to believe – no fully-engineered prototypes had been produced…

Another Engineer backed this up, and reflected upon the inactivity on the project after this point: ‘We saw the RD60 and were assured that the project would re-commence shortly.’ In reality, this never happened and it seemed the only real activity on the RDX60 between July 2003 to and the meltdown of April 2005, was by the Peter Stevens/RDS Design Studio Team – and it was one of these concepts that famously turned up in The Sun, Auto Express and Autocar in February 2005.

The more senior team leaders (i.e. a skeleton structure) were retained at Worthing, when TWR Automotive Engineering was sold on to Menard Engineering in May 2003 and they were relocated to a smaller site in Worthing. They stayed there until 2004 when Menard wanted to consolidate to the Leafield site (the former TWR HQ) in Oxfordshire. At that point, many of the senior ones decided not to re-locate, but there were definitely some ex-RDX60 people at Leafield.

Last gasp: Project Viking

It is thought that Menard’s Directors had, with Tom Walkinshaw’s involvement, been consulted over the upcoming cabriolet concepts (dubbed ‘Project Viking’ in the national press). Sadly, these schemes never left the drawing board, the project having been officially disbanded in February 2005…

Lee Mitchell, one of the Designers working across several MG Rover projects at Longbridge during the RDX60 development programme, summed up the design processes succinctly: ‘There were around five or six initial scale models for RDX60, and the first incarnation of that car was the fastback theme. It wasn’t that it was poor, but it needed a lot of work.

‘The basic theme of a sporty fastback-style hatch was in keeping with past Rover-branded hatches, keeping in mind cars like the SD1 in particular. But, what happens when designs are selected from scale to full size is they go through a long, serious process of refinement and feasibility. While the first RDX60 proposal was certainly feasible, it totally lacked any kind of surface refinement and development. The other themes were much more commercial and typically Euro.

Naive decisions made

‘The main reason for this came from the very, very top. Basically, people who had absolutely zero experience of the design process and no formal artistic or design qualifications were making naive design decisions. This was particularly frustrating for the Design Team because we all knew the car could be a winner, and indeed it had to be.

‘There was no room for failure. For example, just one of the problems with the car was that the front of the vehicle did not have much in the way of plan view, so it looked extremely wide and blocky. The whole appearance was quite brutal and certainly did not reflect the elegant and refined image we wanted for a new Rover.

‘When the TWR thing happened, that basically shut down that particular incarnation of the vehicle. There was also a wagon and a saloon too. The car was then redesigned to be a much more typically European hatch in the flavour of the Golf. But, because we were stuck with the 75’s base of windscreen position, the front looked quite long for a car in this class, and indeed the car would have been the largest vehicle in the class at that time.

‘The story is quite a long and complex one to be honest, but I have never before or since worked on a vehicle that singularly had so many redesigns – I think it was redesigned about four or five times off the top of my head, and we were still doing scale models of yet more themes when the company finally dissolved.’

The SAIC era…

MG Rover RDX60 prototype
Lee Michell’s facelift RDX60 proposal – it was a car that he referred to as being the most modified car pre-launch that he has ever experienced

After a long search, and to the relief everyone involved with the company, MG Rover had seemingly found a second potential partner in China. On 16 June 2004, Phoenix Venture Holdings (PVH) and SAIC announced the signing of an exclusive strategic relationship. The proposed CBIH Joint Venture, which collapsed in mid-2003, had proven to be an excellent business model.

It came as no surprise that, when MGR announced that talks were well advanced with the company, the idea was to form a similar Joint Venture. As far as MGR was concerned, the Chinese link was now absolutely essential, because funding to see RDX60 into production simply was not in the coffers at Longbridge, even though publicly the company maintained this was not the case.

The signing of the agreement took place at SAIC headquarters in Shanghai and Kevin Howe, said: ‘Recently, we have had discussions with several companies in China. We are delighted at the prospect of entering into a relationship with such a successful and respected partner, which will see a significant expansion in volumes of current and future products.’

Failed talks with Proton

In the meantime, there had been the fruitless talks with Proton, which it had been hoped would net MGR a short-term replacement for the Rover 25, which the company planned to sell. The stylish new Proton Gen.2 would be the basis for the 25’s replacement, and one was brought back to Longbridge for styling evaluation. Peter Stevens’ team is said to have attempted a process of ‘Roverisation’ on this car – something a little more far reaching than the changes made to the Tata Indica (in Project RD110) to become the CityRover.

However, MG Rover and Proton could not agree terms on the production of the Gen.2, so the deal floundered. This meant that the 25 would have to soldier on for some time to come, and left SAIC’s Joint Venture as the only remaining game in town…

RDX60 at the RDS Automotive design studios at Southam in Warwickshire: as can be seen, the silver car is a late scheme (Shanghai number plates), but is still very closely related to the earliest TWR-era prototype renderings. (Picture: ITV)
RDX60 at the RDS Automotive design studios at Southam in Warwickshire: as can be seen, the silver car is a late scheme (Shanghai number plates), but is still very closely related to the earliest TWR-era prototype renderings (Picture: ITV)

Meanwhile, full efforts were put into the MGR/SAIC Joint Venture and an office, staffed by Brits as well as Chinese, was set up in Pudong (near Shanghai). Curiously, it had no sourcing or development involvement in the RDX60 (which, by this point, had become known as the ‘New Medium Car’ project in marketing terms and ‘Project Nexus’ to a number of suppliers in the UK).

Finances running out

Back in the UK, finances were getting tight. Sales of the facelifted models had not lived up to expectations, and were dropping rapidly. Production freezes were becoming increasingly common and month-on-month drops of 30 per cent began to become the norm rather than the exception. This had horrifying implications for the company’s intended move into profitability – as a result, RDX60 was mothballed and would remain so until MGR and SAIC had inked the Joint Venture deal.

November 2004 saw several suppliers express concern about the continued viability of MGR and the company therefore went on the offensive, prematurely announcing the ‘billion dollar’ Joint Venture in order to allay fears within the supply chain that MG Rover was about to go under. Of course, SAIC executives did not initially know how to handle the attention, simply stating that the deal had not been done, and that both parties were working hard towards a satisfactory conclusion.

In the meantime, the Design Department worked on updating the RDX60 programme, with the intention of producing a definitive scheme with which to move forward into the Joint Venture. In October 2004, SAIC had been presented with the RDX60 and had been left underwhelmed by the whole thing – it was obvious that the design was being left behind, and it needed to be re-appraised. Facelifted proposals were developed by the Styling Department, and mocked up at RDS Automotive in double quick time. The new designs were prepared and SAIC executives were invited back for a viewing of the updated schemes…

RDX60: Shanghai surprise

Presented to a delegation of SAIC executives visiting Longbridge at Easter 2005, eight to ten new four- and five-door design schemes represented a massive move forwards from the TCV-like these developed in the TWR era. The view from engineering was sanguine – if RDX60 was to be facelifted so comprehensively, it would have put the project even further back.

Lee Mitchell again: ‘These designs marked a radical departure from the original TWR-developed RD60 design and would therefore have meant further millions of money spent and not utilised from the original TWR period (suppliers having been paid ‘upfront’ design and development payments). Based on these new designs ‘from scratch’ and assuming that they got complete ‘go-ahead’ from MGR/SAIC (which they hadn’t), I estimate that start of production for RD60 would have slipped to at least the end of 2007.’

Given that the plan to produce 60,000 hatchbacks per annum in Longbridge and 220,000 saloons per year in Shanghai involved the creation of a new factory, and the project itself was undergoing fundamental engineering changes, a launch date of late 2007 seemed wildly optimistic.

Five-door hatch was considered 'the designers' favourite', although its looks would take some getting used to. Truck-like front end is an RDX60 carry-over, but also proves necessary for upcoming pedestrian safety legislation.
Five-door hatch was considered ‘the Designers’ favourite’, although its looks would take some getting used to. Truck-like front end is an RDX60 carry-over, but would also have been necessary to comply upcoming pedestrian safety legislation

As the RDX60 had been in development (in terms of styling) between 2000 and 2004, it came as no surprise that MG Rover had come under pressure from the Chinese to restyle the car.

These images, as revealed in Autocar magazine April 2005, came from an official source and revealed a project that had reached a crossroads. The SAIC/MG Rover Joint Venture Company needed fresh new product, and a rebody of the RDX60 was the answer. As can be seen, the RDX60 MPV/Tourer and three-door had been dropped by this time, leaving just the saloon and five-door hatchback.

At this stage, the RDX60 had received an 80mm chop in its wheelbase, and dropped much of the 75’s bulkhead. This was set to push the project further back – possibly to a 2007/2008 launch.

These would be available in MG and Rover forms. Styling schemes also appeared for a proposed Rover 75 rebody/restyle – this car would have been based on the then current 75’s wheelbase, and not the stretched version subsequently developed by SAIC.

The final facelift: Rover RD60

The RDX60 needed to move on. There was no doubt about that following the lukewarm reception which greeted the October 2004 model by the Chinese. It was time for a re-design, and perhaps a re-grouping. These cars were the beginning of that process – and, although they would share much of the existing RDX60 architecture, there would be a change in direction, too…

As can be seen, the Designers liked this chunky proposal, which in these renderings, at least, look almost one-box. The then current idea of offering distinct MG and Rover versions would be continued, with both cars being unique in detail only. It was a policy that had worked well in the ‘Zed’ cars, but whether it would still be valid at the time of this car’s launch remained to be seen…

Rear view is interesting and almost Coupe like thanks to its sloping rear glass...
Rear view is interesting and almost Coupe like thanks to its sloping rear glass
Interior prominently featured wood - and aluminium. It was an ultra-modern look, which managed to fuse traditional materials and progressive styling in order to convincingly move MG Rover away from its embedded image of relentless retro...
Interior prominently featured wood and aluminium. It was an ultra-modern look, which managed to fuse traditional materials and progressive styling in order to move MG Rover convincingly away from its embedded image of relentless retro…

The final facelift: MG X60

It might look like an off-roader, but this was to be the brave new face of MG. As it was, it certainly looked different – and that counts for a lot in today’s competitive market. It is a strategy that would have probably served MG Rover/SAIC equally well for years to come. Looking at the bonnet profile, there would have been more than enough room for a supercharged KV6…

MG's styling differs from Rover's in only minor detailing. Miniature tailgate spoiler and octagonal wheel design were a cursory nod to MG's sporting heritage...
MG’s styling differs from Rover’s in only minor detailing. Miniature tailgate spoiler and octagonal wheel design were a cursory nod to MG’s sporting heritage
Cool blue: Another progressive interior design, but one that features extensive use of wood in the centre console.
Cool blue: Another progressive interior design, but one that features extensive use of wood in the centre console

The final facelift: RDX60 Saloon

One for the Chinese market perhaps, but there is no reason to think that this stylish car wouldn’t have done the business in the UK and Europe, too…

The Chinese favoured saloons, so this proposal was drawn up to satisfy far-Eastern demand for three-box cars. Based on the same wheelbase as the RDX60, it would be a compact package, aimed at the Volkswagen Vento/Jetta...
The Chinese favoured saloons, so this proposal was drawn up to satisfy far-Eastern demand for three-box cars. Based on the same wheelbase as the RDX60, it would be a compact package, aimed at the Volkswagen Vento/Jetta…

RDX60 final facelift: the next Rover 75?

These sketches show a softer more conservative four-door saloon aimed at satisfying Chinese tastes (see above). This car would have been built in Shanghai and would have been based on the standard wheelbase of the 75. Unlike the RDX60 Joint Venture car, it would have needed unique doors and would have pushed up costs. The Chinese-built Rover was mooted for a European launch in 2010, and would have served as the replacement for the 75…

Profile and rear three-quarter views show a pleasingly progressive design, and one that would have fit in with the current Audi A4/Saab 9-3 market. Hopefully, the design would have been progressed in order to meet the demands of 2010...
Profile and rear three-quarter views show a pleasingly progressive design, and one that would have fitted in with the then-current Audi A4/Saab 9-3 market. Hopefully, the design would have been progressed in order to meet the demands of 2010

RDX60: the plans peter out

As had always been the case, RDX60 would be based upon the 75’s floorpan, but variance was creeping in. The Longbridge cars would sit on a floorpan shortened by 80mm (originally, RDX60 was supposed to be based on the same wheelbase), with the Shanghai cars sitting on the standard Rover 75 wheelbase.

Another fundamental change in direction was that RDX60 would no longer need to use the 75’s windscreen or bulkhead – a decision bound to delay the car’s introduction.

In the end, the Chinese delegation left the Easter discussion at Longbridge following a full and frank exchange of views, having not approved any of the design schemes. According to Steve Cropley of Autocar, there was still a great deal of work to be done: ‘The meeting did not reach any final decisions, but it did refine the proposals and protagonists realised, at least, they had to decide between two main approaches – to make the four- and five-door models considerably different in design, or cut some costs and make them obvious relatives. The former would have the advantage of allowing the Chinese-built four-door to be brought into the UK a few years later as a replacement for the Rover 75.’

He continued: ‘As discussions concluded, the SAIC delegation was moving towards MGR’s contention that the hatch had to be a challenging design to compete in Europe, though there was little unanimity about which proposal to choose. The Longbridge Designers, for their part, accepted that China would need a more upmarket car.’ Whether this was because SAIC concluded the styling schemes were not up its street, or because there were deeper, graver concerns about MGR’s viability to remain an ongoing concern has yet to be ascertained.

RDX60: the end of the line – and the project

MG Rover RDX60 prototype
The pre-Easter 2005 car, sporting the intermediate grille treatment that Lee Mitchell favoured for the mid-sized cars in the Rover range

So, as we have seen, RDX60 set out as very much a serious project, but fell by the wayside thanks to the double whammy of losing TWR and then falling foul of MGR’s deliberate policy to freeze the project in the hope of finding a collaborative partner with which to fund its final development phase. It was a tragic case of a project losing its impetus just at the point it could have been dragged into production had the company been led by a more focused management…

Having said that, TWR may have produced viable prototypes, but the real costs of getting the car into production were yet to be realised and, although MGR had been gifted a considerable financial dowry by BMW, it had little in the way of facilities to turn the RDX60 into reality, and there was the small matter of financing the company’s continuing losses.

Which ever way the story is stacked, the scale of MGR’s task of getting the car into production was probably too much to scale, even if the company had not spent money on the facelifts, the V8 programme and the XPower SV supercar (the latter two, which were seen as ‘shop window’ products for luring potential suitors). One thing is certain though – there were Engineers on the programme who felt that they would have had more of a chance if MGR had been more effectively managed.

One summed up the situation – citing the CityRover debacle as a good example of Director-level arrogance allowing promising plans to be compromised: ‘Many Engineers, myself included, who really had a passion for the company and its cars feared the company was like a ship with no captain, bobbing around on a rough sea with no direction or power.

The Engineers: ‘lions led by donkeys’

‘We did all we could. For instance, we pointed out the folly in CityRover (RD110) and the insanity of putting the Viking badge on it. We came up with innovative marketing ideas and advertising campaigns, and even long-term company strategies. But it felt like we were shouting at a brick wall, as insane management decisions followed marketing blunders.’

He added: ‘Waste is one word that crops up frequently when discussing the tragic events at Longbridge. This is nowhere more applicable than to the dedicated manufacturers and innovative, talented Engineers with whom I worked.

‘BMW may have taken the Golden Eggs of MINI and Land Rover, but the golden goose was very much still at home. It could have been so different if those pig-headed, arrogant, ignorant Directors had listened to their major asset, or even shown a little of the dedication and enthusiasm shown by these wonderful people. Lions led by Donkeys, indeed.’

MG Rover RDX60 prototype
RDX60 favoured design – this design is one presented to the SAIC delegation in Easter 2005 (Picture: Nik Lovell)

Notes: RDX60 anticipated production timeline

In the early days of development, there was a bullishness about the RDX60’s prospects within the company and, by August 2001, the company was courting prospective suppliers with key targets for the RDX60 project. The initial supplier cost packs produced by MGR Product Development and Purchasing advised the following projected key dates:

RDX60: Key Anticipated Dates (15 Jan 2002)
Build Phase Date Notes Status
D02 Build 13 May 02 – 7 Jun 02 Virtual Build Completed
D1 Build 25 Nov 02 Off-production tools for components Never happened
QP1 Build 16 Jun 03 Off-tool process Never happened
QP2 Build 08 Sep 03 Off-tool process Never happened
QC Build 03 Nov 03 Off-tool process at rate Never happened
M Build 15 Dec 03 Pre-production ramp-up Never happened
SOP1 26 Jan 04 Commence production 5-door MG Never happened
SOP2 09 Mar 04 Commence production 3-door MG Never happened
SOP3 01 Jul 04 Commence production 4-door Rover Never happened
SOP4 11 Jan 05 Commence production Rover Tourer Never happened
EOP 01 Dec 10 End of production N/A

With such ambitious targets, it became painfully obvious that MG Rover would need considerable assistance.

RDX60: Anticipated Production Volumes (2006)
Model Variation Annual Total
5-door MG hatchback (X60) 52,395 (31.8%)
3-door MG hatchback (X60) 27,260 (16.5%)
4-door Rover saloon (RD61) 45,517 (27.6%)
Rover Tourer (RD62) 39,828 (24.1%)
Total 165,000

These production volumes, which cited Longbridge’s peak RDX60 year (2006), also looked adventurous, but probably reflected the optimistic views of the time. Before these figures had been broken down, and MG Rover was discussing RDX60 as a two-tier model line-up (three- and five-door), it was anticipated that the UK would account for a whopping 43% of all cars built…

RDX60 development timeline

Images of the RDX60 project, and its evolution from 75-based mule to a range of saloon and hatchbacks for the Chinese market, presented to SAIC around Easter 2005.

August 2001

A mysterious image of a Rover hatchback appears in Autocar magazine. At the time of the original picture reveal, the magazine also discloses that the new programme is based on a shortened Rover 75 platform and is known as the RD60. It later transpires that the image is a hoax, cooked up by MGR's Public Relations department.
A mysterious image of a Rover hatchback appears in Autocar magazine. At the time of the original picture reveal, the magazine also discloses that the new programme is based on a shortened Rover 75 platform and is known as the RD60. It later transpires that the image is a hoax, cooked up by MGR’s Public Relations Department

2001 Styling sketches

Peter Stevens’ team penned these designs – and, as can be seen, the ambition was for a rugged, solid look for the RDX60.

Another styling sketch of the five-door hatch - and in this case, a low, lean and big-wheeled look replaced the 'soft-roader' scheme. Real potential for style...
Another styling sketch of the five-door hatch – and, in this case, a low, lean and big-wheeled look replaced the ‘soft-roader’ scheme. Real potential for style…

RDX60 People carrier: take a close look and you'll see six seats a-la Fiat Multipla....
RDX60 MPV: take a close look and you’ll see six seats a-la Fiat Multipla…

January 2002

TWR-era CATIA images of the RDX60 cars

Looking at these images, it becomes very apparent that later Photoshop images of the RDX60 cars never captured the rear SD1-type profile on the 3-door/5-door. This was a very well kept secret considering that these images represent the production intent of these cars. Many suppliers had already started to commence production tooling based on this data.

X60 Three-door hatchback

Three-door hatchabck in MG form would have looked very sporty indeed - and that dramatic roofline would have allowed the car to fit in nicely with rivals such as the Vauxhall Astra Sports Hatch...
Three-door hatchback in MG form would have looked very sporty indeed – and that dramatic roofline would have allowed the car to fit in nicely with rivals such as the Vauxhall Astra Sports Hatch
RD61 Four-door saloon – components

Bootlid and rear door for the saloon version... conservative, but palatable to the Chinese.

Bootlid and rear door for the saloon version… conservative, but palatable to the Chinese

March 2002: Tourer Concept Vehicle

Revealed at the Geneva Motor Show, the Rover TCV seemed to impress the pundits…

Geneva 2002 saw the unveiling of the Rover TCV, a concept car that embodied much that was to be found in the RDX60. Produced at the height of RDX60 activity, the TCV employed much of what was hoped would find its way into the production Tourer, then slated for a 2005 launch. It wooed much of the press, but its styling wasn't universally favoured. Much of that allegedly came down to Kevin Howe's personal preference for the styling scheme over a number of more attractive proposals.
Geneva 2002 saw the unveiling of the Rover TCV, a concept car that embodied much that was to be found in the RDX60. Produced at the height of RDX60 activity, the TCV employed much of what was hoped would find its way into the production Tourer, then slated for a 2005 launch. It wooed much of the press, but its styling wasn’t universally favoured. Much of that allegedly came down to Kevin Howe’s personal preference for the styling scheme over a number of more attractive proposals

August 2002

Aiming for Poland: During its chaotic first few years, MG Rover tried hard to obtain a second factory in Poland. The ex-Daewoo factory had fallen into disuse following that company’s bankruptcy, and MGR figured, it could make a cost-effective production facility for the new car, as well as the 75. John Towers told a Parliamentary Select Committee in early 2004 that it intended to move into this area…

Earlier, when the talks had been entered into, MG Rover executives showed the Polish delegation these full scale models of its upcoming range – the idea being that showing the Peter Stevens-designed range of cars would give the Poles a good idea of the company’s future plans. As it was, other bidders entered into the area, and the deal trailed off.

It is possible that these full-size models were driving prototypes, because of the timescales involved but, as one insider relates, it would have not been assembled using any production components: ‘Knowing that trim suppliers had not supplied finished or even semi-finished/prototype components for a physical build (D02 Build had been virtual – see above table), it would have been impossible for TWR to make a truly off-tool vehicle until the D1 Build phase.

‘The best they could have achieved would have been drivable cars like the Rover 75 Coupe that looked like finished cars (e.g. an existing platform/powertrain but with body panels made by rapid prototype techniques, interior/exterior trim components hand-machined/rapid-prototyped or adapted from the existing parts bin).’

2003 saw the first sight of the MG version of the RD60. Dubbed the X60, the MG had a tougher stance than the Rover, and an attractive nose treatment, which successfully previewed the 2004 facelifts of the MG ZR, ZS and ZT...
2003 saw the first sight of the MG version of the RD60. Dubbed the X60, the MG had a tougher stance than the Rover, and an attractive nose treatment, which successfully previewed the 2004 facelifts of the MG ZR, ZS and ZT

China in your hand: MG Rover had been courting China Brilliance for some time, and it was felt that a saloon version of the RD60 would go down with its potential new paymasters. As it was, this conventional scheme didn't set the world on fire, and following the project's freeze, the conservative look was said to have been dropped.
China in your hand: MG Rover had been courting China Brilliance for some time, and it was felt that a saloon version of the RD60 would go down with its potential new paymasters. As it was, this conventional scheme didn’t set the world on fire and, following the project’s freeze, the conservative look was said to have been dropped

November 2003

RDX60 mock-up shown to dealers: In order to keep the dealers on-side and to show them that the new car was progressing, MG Rover showed a selected few this model – which was driven into the Round House – as a preview of what was to come in the next couple of years.

This is clearly a slight evolution of the August 2002 rendering, shown to the Poles. (picture: David Knowles)
This is clearly a slight evolution of the August 2002 rendering, shown to the Poles. (Picture: David Knowles)

August 2004

Autocar RDX60 renderings: After a long period of silence, these dramatic drawings, which were based on intelligence from an inside source, were revealed by Autocar in August 2004. The saloon concept had evolved greatly from the early scheme presented to the Poles in 2002, and the hatchback remained pretty much the same as the TWR design produced in Worthing, although it had a more upright rear end now…

The car above, pictured in Autocar magazine, is a very close representation of thet fully functioning prototype (above), although the rear window arrangement was almost identical to the TCV's, the roofline would have been more rakish and the rear door handles hidden...
The car above, pictured in Autocar magazine, is a very close representation of the fully functioning prototype (above), although the rear window arrangement was almost identical to the TCV’s, the roofline would have been more rakish and the rear door handles hidden

October 2004

MG X60 proposal: Presented to SAIC executives as well as senior MGR staff, this MG X60 proposal looked very interesting. However, it had not really evolved since the original MGR/TWR design dating from 2002. Set styling themes appeared to be the interesting rear window arrangement and heavy front end styling. The model is see-through and is probably a glass fibre mock-up with a fully-designed interior.

February 2005

MGR’s stylists’ frustrations with RDX60 inactivity led to this ‘leaked’ image being sent to the UK media. It was supposed to be a wake-up call…
MGR’s Stylists’ frustrations with RDX60 inactivity led to this ‘leaked’ image being sent to the UK media. It was supposed to be a wake-up call…

Easter 2005

Last-ditch facelift: An update was proposed in 2004, and Peter Stevens’ team soon produced a number of interesting designs…

One of several new design proposals presented to SAIC in Easter 2005, and revealed by Autocar - the styling had been updated to move with the times, but Chinese representatives were said to have been unhappy with the existing styling proposals.
One of several new design proposals presented to SAIC in Easter 2005, and revealed by Autocar – the styling had been updated to move with the times, but Chinese representatives were said to have been unhappy with the existing styling proposals

Could RDX60 have saved MG Rover?

In May 2015, Craig Cheetham blogged about the RDX60 as part of the MGR@10Month series of recollections about the demise of MG Rover.

Great white hope, or white elephant?
MG Rover RDX60: Great white hope, or white elephant?

If MG Rover was to survive in any way beyond early 2005, it needed a car that could not only compete in the bustling compact medium sector against such talented adversaries as the VW Golf and Ford Focus, but also compete profitably. That meant three key things:

  1. It needed to be good,
  2. It needed external investment and,
  3. It needed to be cheap to develop.

The third point was largely addressed by using a truncated version of the FWD Rover 75 platform. When the RDX60 prototype was discovered within Longbridge in 2006, some said its looks were ungainly, though in terms of modern car styling it was ahead of its time in some respects, particularly its intersecting glass area towards the rear.

Rear three-quarter view shows proposed rear window line - a theme prevalent on many cars of today
Rear three-quarter view shows proposed rear window line – a theme prevalent on many cars of today
The top-secret prototype once formed the centrepiece of MG Rover’s plans – it was both a great white hope and a great white elephant.

Based on the 75, which had been in production since 1999, it was co-developed with TWR, the engineering company headed up by the late Tom Walkinshaw. The prototype used a 75 dash and interior, much of which would have been changed for launch – indeed, styling bucks existed showing a more linear, edgy style of dash, not unlike that of the contemporary Vauxhall Astra.

TWR boss Tom Walkinshaw, who died in 2010
TWR boss Tom Walkinshaw, who died in 2010

Although the RDX60 was much shorter than the 75, its wheelbase remained identical. This meant MG Rover could keep much of the older car’s floorpan, reducing costs, though it did mean that in styling terms there was a need for a long nose and a wide track.

The suspension was changed, with BMW’s Z-Axle dropped in favour of a simple beam axle, while power was to come from uprated versions of the K-Series, or a revised L-Series diesel with Siemens common rail injection.

Originally, the car was scheduled for launch in 2004. But the money ran out, not just for MG Rover Group, but also for TWR, which went bankrupt.

TWR worked with Longbridge from 2002 and was pushing hard to get the car into production. Many traditional prototype stages were completed in virtual reality, which kept costs down and led to MG Rover boastfully talking about its advanced design technology.

It was enough for MG Rover to confidently tell its suppliers that the new car would be on sale in early 2004 but, when TWR went into administration in early 2003, the project data was withheld from MGR for at least six months and the project delays began. This was to become a massive, possibly fatal, setback.

MG Rover desperately needed a partner to help finance the car. It’s alleged that MGR had had discussions with both Proton and Fiat to produce Rover models in the same vein as the Honda partnership as an alternative and, had they not stuck with RDX60, there’s every possibility that Rover’s eventual saviour could have come in the form of the Fiat Stilo – a car that never gained much traction in the UK market.

The Fiat Stilo - would it have been a better replacement for the ageing Rover 45?
The Fiat Stilo – would it have been a better replacement for the aging Rover 45?

MGR eventually found a willing partner in the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) in 2004. The parties planned to form a joint venture, with production of the new car and the 75 in Longbridge and China. But the Chinese demanded changes to the RDX60’s styling.

Styling lead Peter Stevens was reportedly quite happy about this. MGR boss Kevin Howe had insisted on many elements of styling early on in the car’s development which Stevens was supposedly nonplussed about, so the Design Team hastily worked up some new styling themes and presented them to SAIC in March 2005. Engineering wise, the car remained unchanged.

Former MGR styling boss Peter Stevens
Former MGR styling boss Peter Stevens

However, as we all know, it was too little, too late. Contract deadlines were missed, bridging loans ran out and, in the end, SAIC saw they could get much better value by letting MG Rover Group go to the wall and mop up the remains afterwards.

In reality, though, would the newcomer have been enough? Despite its existence, there were no other cars in the pipeline. The 25 was positively ancient, and the 75, albeit an excellent car, was already reaching the end of a usual car’s model cycle. More money, more investment and accelerated design and engineering were needed, or if not a new ‘badge-engineering’ partner, and while the efforts of the Designers and Engineers to keep hope alive at Longbridge were more than honourable, in the cold, hard light of day it’s difficult to think that a one model strategy was ever going to be enough to save the company.

And, in my view, SAIC knew that too, which is why those contracts were never signed.

The RDX60, then, may well have made it had TWR not hit financial strife, but when that happened it was likely that the game was already over. Early 2004 might have been enough for Rover to find a willing investor, but they were 12 months too late, leaving the RDX60 as nothing but a tragic footnote in the company’s history…

Scaled-down Vauxhall Signum, anyone? (Image: David Knowles)
Scaled-down Vauxhall Signum, anyone? (Picture: David Knowles)

MG Rover RDX60: 10 years on

In 2011, Keith Adams set eyes upon the RDX60 prototype for the very first time. He blogged about the experience.

RDX60 as shown to the dealers in December 2002
RDX60 as shown to the dealers in November 2003

A recent visit to Longbridge saw me set eyes upon the RDX60 for the first time ever and I have to say that it evoked mixed emotions in me. For sure, more than anything else, it represents the embodiment of all those shattered dreams in May 2005 when MG Rover went into administration…

The idea was sound enough – to build a new mid-sized hatchback based on the underpinnings of the Rover 75 and replace the aging Rover 45 and MG ZS, breathing new life into the Longbridge-based company. Suffice to say that many factors scuppered the car’s chances and it remained as far from production as other favoured BMC>MGR prototypes, such as the Austin AR6 and Rover P8.

However, although Peter Stevens once said that this RDX60 was far from the favoured proposal, somehow it looks contemporary and fresh now – I can’t help but look at it through weary eyes, sore from the continual missed opportunities our favourite car company was capable of producing.

What are your thoughts? Do you like RDX60? Do you think it looks like a winner?

Keith Adams
Latest posts by Keith Adams (see all)

33 Comments

  1. I can see both the Vauxhall Signum and the BMW 1 Series when looking at the images of the RDX60, did BMW pinch so of the design info when they stole the Mini?

  2. @Smithy – I can see GM borrowed the styling from the RDX60, but the BMW 1-Series looks more suspiciously similar to the R30 – which sort of gives the lie to the BM exec’s assertion that “… the completed car languishes in the basement there [in Munich], to this day – unused and not needed.”

  3. You can see the thinking behind the V8 75 & the X Power SV ie to attract investment, a partner for funding the 25,45 replacement. However, I think a 75 Coupe and MGTF GT derivative would have been sufficient in this respect and more relevant to the mass market. Any saving could have been put the way of RDX60. Still, this would hardly have made RDX60 a likely production reality. Facilities, finances were so limited and when TWR went that really was it!

    You could at one time also have argued that money should not have been spent on the Zeds but instead been spent on more bread and butter versions of a replacement 45. However, look at the success these turned out to be! As always, hindsight is a wonderful thing. I suppose, especially after 2003’ish the general view was ‘partner or die’ and remaining funds were spent trying to attract one.

  4. BMW 1 series nee RD60.
    @6,Fully agree David,but for the Z cars this company would have been dead far,far sooner.Give credit where credit is due,to produce those cars was a master stroke,it livened up a dull range unbelievably,and as some of those pictures above show-if only.

  5. That bottom RDX60 definitely bears a resemblance to the later Nissan Juke, I can imagine the Chinese hating it through!

    It also reminds me of Kryten’s head (a Red Dwarf reference)

  6. In a way, it could be said that the Arrows F1 team contibuted much to the demise of MG Rover. I’d imagine had this car made it to production with TWR’s help, it would have rescued the company and attracted buyers who were not just the loyal MG Rover customers that supported the company in its dying years. This is ignoring the fact of course that the logical thing all along was for the Phoenix Four to purchase the rights to the Rover 55 when they were offered them back in 2000….

  7. The earlier examples look too Vauxhall/Opel Signum. Did they use Vectra/Signum pre-facelift headlights?

    The CAD drawings of using the same platform and some components to create a range of cars is very Rover/AR/BL. From the landcrab / Maxi doors up to the many variants of the R8. It is this platform sharing that has helped VW become one of the worlds highest selling car makers.

  8. “The earlier examples look too Vauxhall/Opel Signum. Did they use Vectra/Signum pre-facelift headlights?”

    I was thinking just the same thing…

  9. I agree with 10 & 11. One wonders if, after 8 years since MGRover collapsed, that had this car reached production as a genuine British MGR product, then events might have taken a different course… Shame we’ll never know.

  10. The MG version of RDX60 looked better from the front with the rear only needing a bit more work, while only the Rover-badged booted saloon version of RDX60 looked promising from the rear though along with the Rover version of the hatchback could have done with more work overall and at the front end.

    Given that RDX60 was rather heavily based on the Rover 75 / MG ZT platform, could MG Rover have further differentiated the Rover and MG badged RDX60s by offering the two in RWD and FWD respectively (assuming there was more money in the kitty)?

  11. Have you looked at a new Ford Focus and a RDX60, at least we know what one would have looked like.

    When they launched the BMW 1 series, they showed it coming down a production, that car coming towards you is a Rover.

    Brian

  12. Travelling home tonight, drawing towards a red light I glanced the rear of a Chevrolet Cruze in the lane to my right. Not a car you often see. Oh, that tail is a bit fussy I thought. Glanced again as I stopped alongside. I noted quite a bluff front with a long, tapering, sloping rear. I though again “RDX60”

  13. There seems to have been quite a few negative comments made about the appearance of RDX60 – “pick up truck” front, for example. However, I rather like the look of the green car shown to dealers in November 2003. The long nose, tapered rear gives a unique feel to what I would call the “Focus era family hatch”.

    Given that one insider saw a production start of Summer 2004 as possible, the loss of TWR is such a huge stroke of bad luck!

    Assuming, RDX60 had made production though, just what were the company’s longer term chances of survival? RDX60 would have been yet another car bridging market classes and sitting too close to the 75. Even if a success, collaboration would still have been essential for other models and could this have continued in a sustained, Honda like fashion?

  14. British Leyland & successor companies have used the term, “the car that could save them” since the Princess. Only the Metro, XX-R & R8 turned out to be such cars (although other successful cars were launched at less critical times for the cpmpanies)& I doubt this would have been another. The game was up once R30 got shipped off to Munich together with CAD drawings, intellectual property rights etc & this one was just too ungainly, by virtue of its 75 underpinnings, to have been a life saver.

  15. very ugly thing, a opel or vauxhall signum with a mg grille on it… no it wouldnt helped a lot… owning 2 rover 200 coupes today, i think the world isnt waiting for rover cars or mg cars anymore, altough i love to see a mg6 race in btcc but they dont sell petrol sixes anymore and only a hatchback??? i dont understand them…

  16. Probably the closest we now have, in terms of concept (sporty hatch and tidy small saloon) is the new Mazda 3.

    • How do you work that out? – This car was designed after BMW shipped out, it hadn’t even reached running prototype stage in 2005 as Rover collapsed – a year after the BMW 1 series went on sale. The 1 series is a rear wheel drive car based on a cut down 3 series platform. The style that Rover rather clumsily tried to emulate with this car represented the zeitgeist in early to mid 200’s. Not only the BMW adopted this approach to styling, but so did GM with the 2004 Astra MK5.

      • Indeed.
        The E8XX 1 series was based on the E9XX 3 series platform and shares a hell of a lot with it in terms of structural panels, floor, etc.

  17. The RD60 is the car that could have saved Rover? That’s a bit like saying the Maxi is the car that could have saved BMC.

  18. I was working for TWR during its part in this story, and have some memories that don’t quite match this story. For most of the time I wasn’t full time on the programme, but was occasionally asked to support it, but for the last couple of months I was transferred to RDX-60.
    What I remember was that the cost workshops did take place, but not the weight workshops. Also the programme freeze in early 2003 was partly due to an ongoing restyle following the vehicle’s poor reception at a dealer clinic.

    I also have to add that, having seen the projected volumes, the numerical targets and target competitors, the programme status, and the clay models, I didn’t hold out the hope that many did that this car would be the saviour of MG-Rover.

    • Thanks Neil,
      It does seem from your comment and this article, that the failure was lack of astute management and marketers. With what Martin H says below about the inability under BMW ownership to make a big->mid size car profitable, and forgiveable but foolish efforts to get outside partners/money (Honda & BMW benefitted and left MGR high and dry), it is clear that RDX60 alone could nat save MGR.

      For RDX60 though, MGR management should have:
      1) been alert to TWR making design staff redundant when supposedly upscaling for MGR’s productionisation of RDX60 – a real red flag if they had paid attention instead of jet setting to China.
      2) made a fast offer to TWR design staff & TWR administrators to transfer design staff and software designs & models to MGR design office – keeps RDX60 moving seamlessly and saves administrators redundancy costs.
      3) if 2 above failed, take a few lads and trucks at night and angle grind the padlocks off and take the RDX60 work from TWR. Let the administrators sue – it costs less than stalling the RDX60 program!

      Keeping the TWR work & staff with MGR could have kept the launch on schedule for 2004 and obtained more local bridging finance rather than waste time with duplicitous SAIC, who clearly smelled a bargain if they wasted enough time until MGR went broke. It worked for them!

      • MGR management should have been aware that any OEM that contracted engineering to TWR, never did it twice if the could possibly help it. Bloody awful outfit to deal with – and a shocking reputation for (being polite) sharp practice.

  19. Interesting piece of history. The MGR leadership were well aware that this project was not commercially viable and could never make a profit. John Tweedy just had to ask himself about RD2. What is RD2 you say?

    RD2 was a complete study in BMW days of a medium car from the then current RD1 project (Rover 75). This was reported at board level and was absolutely conclusive that you could not make a smaller car from a larger platform and also make a profit.

    It was not even close to being a credible strategy and this was the reason why R30 developed. This shows that BMW at that time were only prepared to look at a viable long term strategy for Rover. RD2 was a low investment zero profit strategy. R30 was a high investment profitable strategy as long as you had the cash and the brand confidence.

    I am sure that the RDX60 project was the MGR leadership’s attempt to show that they had a credible future product strategy and product development capability to prospective partners. The multi product plan was pure fantasy – even I know that there is no significant sales volume for a 3 door medium car. I am sure that the Chinese saw through this charade and were probably also aware of RD2!

    This was just another case of MGR wasting money.

    Martin Halliwell

  20. I think they were going for the wrong market. The Golf class is/was crowded, marginally profitable and dying, squeezed between new high quality entrants from Korea and the premium makers reaching down, you’d need to be very efficient and well financed to throw your hat in that ring. In any case the car they were apparently trying to develop already existed in the UK it’s called the Nissan Qasqai.

    IMHO with the 75 platform they had the basis of a really good Audi A4 competitor. Audi sells 100,000 in the UK annually – that’s the market they should have been going for. FWD A4 is the default choice of middle England, and until two years ago there was no British competitor. A reskinned 3 box saloon plus jacked up XC70 style softroader. Modernize the styling inside and out, keep the same wheelbase but trim the overhangs. Adopt the fixes for the K series that the SAIC finally put in place, and buy in a modern diesel.

    The legacy 75 bodyshell gets stretched and facelifted and stays in production as a direct 5 series competitor. The 25 / 45 get pensioned off to a developing country at the end of their lives. So you then basically have a British Volvo, a company building two different lengths of the same high quality platform, selling in profitable segments, that could have attracted some serious Chinese investment.

      • Nissan quasquai started 2006, Hyundai i30 entered production in the Czech Republic 2007

        Ambitious target date for rdx60 was 2005 slipping to 2007

        The missed opportunity is a real focussed British a4 competitor, jlr have failed with the xe – too expensive. River 75 was to flabby and retro. If someone nailed this it could make a company, a huge profitable market was there and still is.

  21. Is there any truth to rumors the RDX60 was to also feature a road-going 2-litre 4-cylinder version of the K2000 engine?

  22. In some ways, could have it been a more clever development management if MGR didn’t made TWR do too much things for them to handle? In my alternative plan, after finishing development of RDX60, MGR took RDX60 to do things like purchasing, and reward TWR some of their new car projects like Rover 75 update that shares components with production RDX60.

    I know it’s not a good thing to think about “could, would, should” what-if matters too much, but I felt MGR could have been better when it comes to some decisions, while their cars like MG Zed trio, MG TF and Rover Streetwise were clever products for what they could afford.

2 Trackbacks / Pingbacks

  1. AROnline » The cars : Roewe 750
  2. The cars : Roewe 750 development history | AROnline: AROnline

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