CONCEPT GT

I DECIDED I WANTED AN MG BUT IT HAD TO BE A V8. IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE SOUND AND THE POWER. AND IT HAD TO BE A GT.

Incredibly, the first generation MGB was launched way back in 1962. This spawned the handsome GT version three years later, followed by the C and V8 models, the MGB becoming one of the most popular sports cars of all time. With its demise, and the closure of MG’s world famous Abingdon factory in 1980, enthusiasts everywhere mourned the loss of this charismatic motor car.

In the late 1980s ex-Cowley body engineer David Bishop was responsible for the manufacture of British Motor Heritage ‘service replacement’ bodies and panels at their Faringdon factory, 18 miles south west of Oxford, which included bodyshells for the MGB. An initial review of developing a fully-engineered, V8-powered MGB inhouse, similar to those being offered by specialist companies such as Brown & Gammons, suggested the idea simply wasn’t financially viable.

The abandoned concept was taken up by Rover Special Products, a newly formed team within Rover Group whose task was to research niche market models, analysing them to development and production status. Crucially,