MG6 Finally Gets Much Needed Diesel Variants in the UK

It's no secret that diesel engine options are necessary for any carmaker looking to succeed in the European market, even more so in mainstream segments.
Chinese-owned MG has been building and selling its MG6 in the UK since last summer, but up until now, it only offered a petrol engine in a category that's dominated by diesels, which in some models, make up for more than 80 percent of sales.

New MG6 BTCC Edition Celebrates Brand's Return to British Racing Series

The reborn MG brand has whipped up a new special edition of its mid-size liftback model to mark its return to a major motorsports event and in particular, the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC).
The new MG6 BTCC Edition made its first appearance at the final round of the 2012 MSA Dunlop BTCC at Brands Hatch, where MGKX Momentum team driver Jason Plato finished third after taking the chequered flag six times during the racing season.

UK Insurer Parts the Most Unreliable and Costly Car to Fix

In an article on a BMW-faced Honda Accord we found for sale on Craigslist back in 2008, we wrote that in a perfect world, our ultimate car would be “designed by Italians, engineered by Germans, built by Japanese and marketed by Americans”.
So, what’s the worst car one could imagine? Well, if we played around with the above statements, we’d say one designed by Japanese, engineered by Americans, built by Italians and marketed by Germans.
But UK insurance firm Warranty Direct had something a little bit different in mind. Instead of playing the origin card, the company decided to check out its database of 50,000 live policies on cars aged five years on average to part the UK’s most unreliable vehicle that would break down every other month and cost an average of £2,050 (equal to US$3,270 - €2,330) to fix each year.

Silverstone Organisers Ask: What is the Best British Sports Car of All Time?

The fifteen finalists in the Silverstone Classic’s, “Best British Sports Car of All Time” vote-in have been announced, and boy is there some choice picks. Before we get to that though, can I just point out a misnomer in using the, “of All Time” qualifier?
This assumes (prophetically?) that Britain will not be making any more sports cars in the future, whereas, “Best British Sports Car So Far” would be a far more accurate description. But enough with semantics: who are our lucky finalists?

MG New Models to Conquer Europe

SAIC Motor Corporation, the owner of MG Motors, plans to develop several new models for the British brand in order to boost sales outside its home market in China. The Chinese owner of MG Motors has already spent £1 billion ($1.64 billion) to re-launch the MG and Roewe brands (former Rover) and intends to invest another £2.2 billion ($3.6 billion) to achieve annual sales of 700,000 by 2015.
In 2010, the two brands sold 160,397 cars, most of which were delivered in China, with only 2,000 units exported to other markets. This past April, MG launched its new mid-size MG6 in the UK, the first new car to be assembled at the British firm’s Longbridge plant in 16 years. The company said that when it completes the development of a diesel version, it will offer the car to rest of Europe. "We will not go into mainland Europe without a diesel," UK managing director, William Wong, told Autonews.

Canadian Man Throws a V12 into a 1967 MGB GT

If you are a car guy like Mark Sawatsky of Winnipeg, Canada, and you happen to have a Jaguar 5.3-liter V12 and an old 1967 MGB GT lying around in your garage, it doesn’t take too long to come up with an impressive project. For Mark it was the creation of racecar to compete in the modified class of the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America).

MG6 to Start Production at Birmingham site on April 13, Prices Start from £15,495

The fastback version of the all-new MG6 will soon become MG Motor’s first all-new model to pass through the gates of the firm’s Longbridge factory in 16 years. The last time MG showed a brand new model was in 1995 with the MG F, a mid-engined, rear-wheel drive roadster. According to the British automaker, the first series production model will roll off the assembly line on April 13, 2011 at precisely 11:00 am.
MG Motors, which now belongs under the umbrella of China’s Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) group, will follow up with a sedan version of the MG6 this summer. Both the four-door saloon and the five-door fastback will be offered with a 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine that’s good enough for 160 ponies and 215Nm of peak torque at 1750-4500 rpm.

New MG6 Saloon First Photos, Goes on Sale in the UK this Summer

Having been delayed for a couple of months due to some negative consumer feedback, the MG6 four-door Saloon model has now taken over the social media scene. The first photos of the ₤17.000 Focus rivaling MG have been posted on the British firm's facebook page. The MG6 Saloon is scheduled to land in UK showrooms this summer, a few months after the first batch of MG6 fastback's reach their owners.

The Evolution of Classic Art Cars by d'Assis Cordeiro

Portuguese artist Ricardo d'Assis Cordeiro is the creator of these car oil paintings depicting some really cool classic cars. They are the result of an idea that took shape last year that took him back to the adventures of his childhood and teenage years. These paintings are a tribute to the elegance, beauty, history and evolution of classic cars over time. He wanted classic car enthusiasts to enjoy and see their old favorites immortalized on canvas.

d'Assis Cordeiro 2010 - MG J2 - 1938 - Óleo s/ Tela - Oil on Canvas

 d'Assis Cordeiro 2010 - Mercury Comet Galaxy - 1965 - Óleo s/ Tela - Oil on Canvas

d'Assis Cordeiro 2010 - Porsche 911 RSR 3000 - 1974 - Óleo s/ Tela - Oil on Canvas

MG to Build First All-New Model in 15 Years at its UK Plant

MG Rover's old Longbridge car plant is set to comeback in a big way when SAIC / MG begins building its first all new car in 15 years at the end of the year. The plant will start producing the MG6 mid-size model from knocked-down kits imported from China, preceding the UK relaunch of MG as a "value brand" in 2011.

The all new car will be available initially as a five-door fastback, with a four-door saloon to follow later on. The automaker optimistically told the Financial Times that customer clinics have compared the MG6 with the likes of the Ford Mondeo, Skoda Octavia and even with small BMWs. Prices in the UK are said to range between £16,000 to £20,000 (US$25,425 to US$31,780).

Rover 55 Sedan: A Proposal for a British-Flavored Chrysler 300 Than Never Was

Once upon a time, back in the days when the MG Rover Group was alive and fairly hopeful for the future [...] in the hands of BMW, the Bavarian carmaker was dreaming up a new lineup for the British company. Among the plans was one for the development of a replacement for the outdated, fifth-generation Honda Civic-based, 200/400 series, later called the 25/45, positioned under the 75 in Rover's car lineup.

We remember many proposals and concept sketches for the car from the period, but the folks from "Aronline" managed to secure some exclusive photos of a full size clay model that we've never seen before. Named the R55, it's a design proposal for a compact sedan slightly larger than the BMW 3-Series said to have been completed back in the Spring of 1997.