The story of the MG XPower SV-R begins with the De Tomaso Biguá, a front-engined V8-powered coupe designed by Marcello Gandini. It was the fruit of a joint effort between De Tomaso Automobili and another small Italian automaker, Qvale.
However, just as deliveries of the cars were commencing, the two companies decided they did not want to do business any more, and the latter took over the manufacturing business, but weren’t allowed to use the name – it ended up being called the Qvale Mangusta, hinting at its De Tomaso roots.
This brings us neatly to the MG XPower SV, which is basically what the MG Rover Group did with the neoMangusta, when it gained the rights to its production in 2003, after it had been in production for less than three years – Qvale had only been founded in 2000.
A total of around 82 cars were built, and now you can own one for yourself, if you have €139,900 / $183,500 ready to be wired to Germany’s Mobile.de site, where this particular SV-R model is listed for sale.
It is an evolution of the basic 320 hp (324 PS) SV, and it gets 385 hp (390 PS) courtesy of an increase in the V8’s displacement from 4.6- to 5.0-liter. With this much power, the 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) figure drops to under 5 seconds, while the claimed to speed is 175 mph (282 km/h). Also, it was mostly built in Italy, with only the finishing touches being put on it in the UK, before it was delivered. A rare and unique car, with an interesting story behind it (also the reason why the history lesson was in order) – perhaps this is why the price is so high…
By Andrei Nedelea
Shout out to Christian K. for the submission!
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