[stb:mod]Posting: 11110
User: Andreas Scheibelhut
EMail: scheibelhut@usa.net
[/stb:mod]Hi,
nachfolgend eine News von der Web-Site von autoexpress-Magazin (uk).
Ich hoffe der Link funktioniert, ansonsten müßt Ihr Euch selber registrieren.
Maybe there is hope.
Best wishes
Andreas
In The Roar: Rover's Hottest-ever MGF
Issue 579 - AutoExpress -- This the car BMW
does not want you to drive. It's the fastest, most
aggressive-looking MGF ever to emerge from
the factory. Indeed, it's so good the top brass at
parent company BMW fears that, if put into
production, it would tempt buyers away from its
own Z3.
Currently there is little overlap between the Z3
and MGF, which were each developed
independently before BMW swallowed up
Rover back in 1994. Today's entry-level Z3
costs about the same as a top-spec MGF,
although it's the six-cylinder BMW which is the
bigger seller. However, an MG with in excess of
200bhp for around £25,000 would really give
Z3 buyers an attractive alternative.
Staff at Rover are still rooting for the hot MGF
to be produced in limited numbers of around
200-300 per year as a special edition - in much
the same way as Ford's Racing Puma is set to
be sold. This would, Rover hopes, divert the
spotlight back to the MGF range, which has
suffered rapidly declining sales in the past year.
At the heart of any performance MG will be the
engine, but in this case that has proven a real
stumbling block for the engineers. The obvious
choice would be the powerplant used in this
show car - a supercharger-boosted version of
the familiar VVC engine, producing 200bhp.
This is enough to give the Super Sports a
0-60mph sprint time of under six seconds and
a top speed of 150mph. The supercharger
suits the characteristics of the VVC engine,
too, increasing its torque characteristics at low
engine speeds to up to 220Nm at 4,500rpm
and boosting the already impressive power at
the top of the rev range. The potential of this
option was shown by aftermarket tuner Turbo
Technics, which got together with SP
Performance to produce the 210bhp Cheetah
last year.
Despite the obvious advantages, the proven
technology and the link with the supercharged
version of the new Mini due for launch next
year, it is thought the supercharging option for
the MGF has been rejected - the conversion is
too costly to meet the budget constraints and
there have been problems keeping the MG's
already cramped engine bay cool. So another
choice, Rover's excellent 2.5-litre KV6 unit, has
not been ruled out, but using this would tread on
BMW's toes further by making the MG
smoother and refined - a selling point for
six-cylinder BMWs. It would also require some
re-engineering of the engine bay.
A more likely alternative is a high-performance
derivative of the all-new four-cylinder 2.0-litre
engine currently being developed for use in
Rover and BMW products. The new
powerplant, which will be built at Hams Hall in
the Midlands, is still under wraps but would
offer huge potential for a hot MGF.
The standard MGF also responds well to
chassis tuning. A sportier suspension package
is already available 'off-the-shelf', thanks to the
marque's long-running one-make race series,
the MGF Cup. As with the aftermarket-tuned
Cheetah, the Super Sports concept borrows
race specification suspension from the MGF
Cup cars. Despite the race track settings, this
proves remarkably suited to road use,
maintaining most of the ride quality but, usefully,
improving grip and stability, too.
Just as important for most customers will be the
car's looks - and the Super Sports certainly
doesn't disappoint. The show car - wheeled out
for the first time and exclusively for Auto
Express - looks stunning, elevating the MGF
from a cute and cuddly roadster into a real
head-turner. No one could ever accuse this MG
of being a hairdresser's car.
Even from a distance the Super Sports attracts
attention, thanks to its special Chromaflair paint
which changes colour between green and
orange when viewed from different angles and
under altering lights. This paintwork highlights
the Super Sport's aggressive bodykit. And the
biggest structural changes are the front and
rear wings, which have been flared to cover the
larger wheels and wider track. This also allows
the rear engine cooling vents just behind the
doors to be made larger to allow more air into
the crowded engine bay.
The front has huge air intakes to help keep the
radiator cold, and this enhances the looks
again. A ground-dragging spoiler is garnished
with a Bentley-style chrome mesh grille. The
reaction to the concept was so positive that
Rover now offers the mesh as an option on the
latest versions of the standard car. The
massive new bumper also houses a pair of
huge spotlamps to improve visibility at night
while, in a retro touch, the indicator lamps are
borrowed straight from a Mini.<