Met een Amerikaanse V8 en achterwielaandrijving wil MG de ’muscle car’ herintroduceren. De 260pk wordt o.a. gebruikt in de Ford Mustang.
Onlang vestigde MG een record door met de ZT-T met een gemodificeerde V8 een maximum snelheid van 362 km/h te halen op de Salt Flats in Utah USA. Dit is de hoogste snelheid ooit gemeten voor een stationcar. Uitgangspunt voor de recordauto is de nieuwe ZT 260 V8 die MG nu onthuld.
De technische layout van de MG ZT werd behoorlijk overhoop gegooid. De auto werd tot nu toe geleverd met vier- en zescilindermotoren, waarvan de krachtigste versie 190 paardekrachten in huis heeft. Het vermogen werd altijd via de voorwielen op de weg gebracht. De ZT 260 doet dit via de achterwielen. Maar ook de krachtbron is bijzonder. De 4,6-liter V8 met een vermogen van 260 pk en een maximum koppel van 410 Nm wordt ingekocht bij Ford, die de motor o.a. voor de Mustang gebruikt. Het is echt een klassieke amerikaanse achtcilinder met enkele bovenliggende nokkenas en slechts twee kleppen per cilinder. De ingenieurs van MG hebben wijzigingen moeten aanbrengen aan de koeling en het uitlaatsysteem. De motorelektronica werd aangepast om aan de Europese emissienormen te kunnen voldoen. Ook de handgeschakelde vijfversnellingsbak is van Amerikaanse origine.
De bodemplaat en het onderstel van de ZT zijn aangepast om de het zwaardere blok te kunnen huisvesten. De multi-link achterwielophanging is van een volledig nieuw ontwerp. De veren en stabilisatoren kregen een grotere diameter. De ZT 260 staat op 18-inch lichtmetalen velgen. De Contisport-banden hebben een maat van 225/45 ZR18. Het remsysteem heeft ook een upgrade ondergaan, voor en achter worden grotere geventileerde schijven gemonteerd.
De ZT 260 is leverbaar met zowel sedan- als stationcar-carrosserie. Beide versies hebben een gelimiteerde topsnelheid van 250 km/h. De sedan accelereert in 6,6 seconde van 0 naar 100 km/h, de T doet er een tiende langer over.
In Engeland zit de ZT 260 V8 op het prijsnivo van o.a. de BMW 330i, Jaguar X-type 3.0 en Volvo S60 T5. Een Nederlandse prijs is nog niet bekend.
This new MG is not a great car. It has faults that have no place in any saloon costing £27,995, and anyone wooed by thoughts of its large capacity V8 engine and rear-wheel-drive handling should consider its proposal very carefully indeed before accepting. The BMW 330i is a car I'd recommend to anyone with 28 grand to throw at a small saloon; this ZT emphatically is not. l tell you why in a minute.
For now, consider its proposition. To all bar the eagle-eyed, who spot its four exhausts or tiny V8 badges inside and out, the ZT 260 is indistinguishable from the extant ZT 190. Under its still splendidly attractive skin, however, it is close to being an all-new car. Out comes MG 2.5 litre V6 to be replaced by a 4.6 litre V8 more commonly found prowling the US under the bonnets of a million Ford Mustangs.
Just as significantly, the ZT now drives through the rear rather than the front wheels, for which not the slightest provision had been made in its original design. That meant changing the entire floor of the car, a substantial amount of its structure and designing new rear suspension from scratch.
Why go to all this effort? Simply because MG Rover wants to be thought of as a constructor of real drivers cars and, reasonably good though the stock ZT is, it was always going to be limited by both its engine and front-drive layout. It isn't any more.
I have always considered that people who put big engines in small, rear-drive cars should receive some kind of award. For those who really appreciate driving, there is no better configuration. Even so, they can still mess it up, as we saw with the previous generation of mid-engine Renault Clio V6 the execution is all. MG Rover has made no such mistakes.
On paper its 260bhp provides impressive performance (0-60mph in 6.2sec, top speed 155mph) but on the road it's the 302 lb ft of torque that really grabs your attention. These days, economy-conscious and emissions-anxious manufacturers resort to squeezing ever more power from ever smaller engines, with the result that you need to go hunting through their gearboxes for the right ratio before they will really go.
MG Rover doesn't give a stuff about economy and emissions, with the result that the ZT 260 pulls like a locomotive from idle, with satisfying transatlantic growl to boot. Those wishing to avoid top-band car tax or travel much more than 20 miles on a gallon of fuel should turn the page now.
But the real work has been saved for the chassis. After a swift cross-country run, where I learnt that the ride quality was acceptable for such a car but the steering a bit lifeless, we repaired to a wet Mallory Park race track where Anthony Reid, works MG touring-car driver, proceeded to slide it so sideways around the circuit you could have taped up the windscreen and not materially affected his view.
When my turn came, I discovered with something approaching astonishment that I could do the same. I was perhaps not as dramatic, fluent, consistent or quick as Reid, but I knew at once there was more than my modest talent at work here. In the wet at least I did not drive it on dry roads this ZT is one of the most delightfully balanced saloons I have encountered, with handling that felt for all the world like that of a pocket-sized BMW M5. And that is praise indeed.
So what's wrong with it, other than its phenomenal thirst and emissions? Well, the Mustang engine comes with a Mustang gearbox that, while improved by MG Rover, is slow, clonky, heavy and big enough to rob you of a rest for your clutch foot. Its ride and refinement are inferior to that of a BMW 330i or Jaguar X-type to name but two, traction control is not even an option and it should be, the interior switchgear is ageing horribly, and there's precious little room in the back.
It's an easy car to condemn, not least because few drivers will regularly find a safe environment in which to exploit its chassis its greatest talent by far. But in this ever more conformist world, it is mighty refreshing occasionally to come across a family car that raises two fingers to convention. It may be new but it has an old-fashioned heart, and at its core lies the best interests of the enthusiast driver. Regardless of what other manufacturers bleat in marketing material, this is territory they are abandoning in droves.
Whether there are enough such drivers left with both the inclination and ability to drop £28,000 into such a car for the project to succeed is hard to judge. But I hope there are: for all its myriad failings, the MG ZT 260 is a rare thing these days: a genuinely different take on the performance saloon. I, for one, wish it well.
VITAL STATISTICS
Model: MG ZT 260 V8
Engine type: V8, 4600cc
Power/Torque: 260bhp at 5000rpm / 302 lb ft at 4000rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Tyres: 225/45 ZR 18
Fuel/CO2: 21.1mpg (combined) / 314g/km
Acceleration: 0 to 60mph: 6.2sec
Top speed: 155mph
Price: £27,995
Verdict: Maverick sports saloon, deeply flawed but charming and able
Rating: ***
55 mille is veel geld, maar het eerstvolgende model in dit formaat met V8 kost toch minimaal 75 mille (De vergelijking met een 330i van 46.000 euro gaat ook niet op, want even aanpassen aan je wensen en je gaat erg snel richting de 58.000 )
Bespaar je toch mooi even 20.000 euro en rijd je een stuk exclusiever dan een A4 . Daarnaast kan je voor dat geld jezelf een aardige compressor cadeau doen .
Ik kan niet wachten tot de ZT260 bij de dealer staat -> proefrit!
Zeker weten 
)
. Daarnaast kan je voor dat geld jezelf een aardige compressor cadeau doen 
.
