The MG Turbo Story - Maestro, Montego and Metro - Austin Rover's Escort RS Turbo Destroyer
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- Опубліковано 4 тра 2024
- In this video we explore the development of the craziest MGs ever created, the MG Maestro Turbo, Montego Turbo and Metro Turbo. Looking at myths from Jeremy Clarkson to how Austin Rover entered a duel with Ford's Escort RS Turbo and Vauxhall's Astra GTE a real 1980s hot hatch showdown.
Follow me on Instagram for more cool stuff: / tomisdrivingcars
Credits:
AROnline - Marina, B Series Turbo, Maestro.
BMIHT - Development footage
MG Car Club - MG historic information
If you'd like to read more my sources are linked below
MG Turbo Development:
www.aronline.co.uk/cars/austi...
MG Metro Turbo information:
www.mgownersclub.co.uk/mg-gui...
Turbocharging the B Series:
www.aronline.co.uk/opinion/i-... - Авто та транспорт
I had a 1990 MG Montego Turbo. It was bonkers. Bought mine with a slipping clutch and rusty rear arches for £1800 in 1994. Sent it to my Dad's mate who tuned and raced cars and he experimented on it a bit, tweaked it, sorted all the issues, fixed the rust and re-painted it. When he delivered it back to me he said 'be careful in that thing, its a bit lively now'. I then proceeded to drive it like a complete hooligan for the next few years, scaring all my mates sh*tless in the process. Saw 130mph on the clock a few times without any drama and it was still pulling. It did try to kill me a few times in the wet, one time overtaking someone it spun up the wheels and torque steered left, right and left again nearly putting me in a ditch but it was brilliant fun. It was quicker than just about anything at the time except maybe a Sierra Cosworth. Despite all the drama it was completely reliable and really comfy (and fast) on a long run. I'd love to have another now.
i tried to make a lancia integrale ,the delta loose grip but i couldn´t ,it was yellow ,when travelling all brigades from national guard made me stop ,but only to see the car ,i had to sell it, also had a sierra cosworth and a escort 1600RS turbo ,both late 80´s
In common with other commenters - I also had a white Montego Turbo (still the only brand-new car I've ever owned). It turned heads. Its reputation and performance was second to none, and the 'pride of ownership' factor was off the scale. I did 170,000 miles in it, and the ONLY failure was a knackered offside front wheel bearing. I was in Grimsby at the time and I remember it like it was yesterday. I limped to the local A/R dealer, and they replaced it inside an hour. In terms of fun - it's still the best car I've ever owned. Nothing's even come close. RIP A/R.
As for memories, In 1990 I was in the Royal Air Force and was posted to RAF Aldergrove , Northern Ireland. There were two MG Maestro Turbo's on the the 'Special Fleets' one red and one BRG. The red on from memory was used as a Close Protection (CP) car for VIP escorts. The green one was used by the SAS for shall we say for special ops. The SAS (Were station on our base)had a fleet of high performance cars including Audi Quattro's, and Carlton GSI's among others. I remember one night they went out of the base and within a few minutes returned with a very crashed Audi only to leave the base again within five minutes in the MG. Having a MG Maestro pass you doing 80+MPH when you lying in a ditch inches from the road is a feeling I'll never forget.
I remember the MG Maestro Turbo been launched. I was and still to this day gobsmacked at the blistering performance this car offered at the time. No other hot hatch at the time could touch it.
My dad got to use the pool car from his company before he got a company car. That was a Metro MG Turbo. This must have been 88 or 89, and I was 10 or 11. Anyway, we were driving down the North Walls in Winchester and my dad was a bit heavy on the accelerator, sitting in the back with my brother and sister I still remember the feeling of being pushed back in the seat! Fricking awesome!
Great video as always. The non-turbo MG Metro had 73bhp, it was the 1.0 litre had 50bhp.
A mate of mine had a MG Maestro Turbo. Decided that 150bhp wasn't enough, so souped it up to 250bhp. It's not often I've been scared in a car.....
I don't have much personal experience of them driving wise, but a couple of friends had a metro turbo and maestro between them. They were eye openers, but underdogs against the Ford marketing machine.
It shows Austin Rover had the will to make great cars, not just the mundane day to day rides we are lead to believe.
Who knows what could of been if the BMW buy out had been avoided.
i sold ARG cars through the latter half of the 1980s. Where i worked we supplied a lot of employee and management cars and so we handled a disproportionately high number of top end models. All the MGs were under-rated thanks to the well known quality issues, which could be mostly avoided with keeping to the correct maintenance. However any one working in the motor trade will tell you thats not something that happens consistently with a lot of owners. After 1987 quality got much better (from the point the two- tone paint schemes were introduced). Regarding the MG Maestro Turbo I had the factory demonstrator (black) for a weekend. It was a bit like driving a hand grenade, you were just waiting for it to explode. Devastating acceleration from the time exacerbated some monumental torque steer but would leave any other hot hatch driver totally bewildered. I often kept a look out for one second hand but never dropped on one at the right time. Incidentally i don’t know if you’re aware but TWR made a body kit for the Rover 216 Vitesse after the one for the 827. We had a red one visit us with a sales guy and it looked the absolute business. My sales team wanted to get a kit as we reckoned we could shift a few but nothing ever appeared. Be nice to see a video about the Montego Estates as. I rated them better than the Sierras of the time.
I had an 89 MG Montego Turbo, thank god it was a company car is all I’ll say. It was incredibly fast not great at breaking, engines didn’t last long, Turbos were worse and lost a gear box too. It burned rubber at an unbelievable rate and MPG was not much better than about 17/18 on a good run but I did drive it like I’d robbed a bank.
Sorry that’s total rubbish - I had an 89 monte turbo. The only thing that went wrong was the headlight switch and that was after I maxed out boost.
Std brakes n suspension a bit marginal but not dangerous.
Oh and did 30 mpg til I tweaked needle profile
Company cars and hire cars. Standard driving.
😂😂
@@oligoon
We're or are you on MG-Rover.0rg? Seems a familiar screen name! I used to be one of the few on there who had an M16 converted Maestro. That was a fun car 😂
@curbyourshi1056. If it’s a rental, drive it like your mental.
I had a Silver over Black Y reg Mk1 MG Metro Turbo back in 1988 a truly awesome little car for thrashing round the back roads of the Lake District where I lived back then.
I drove that thing so damn hard I'm amazed it never broke on me! Eventually sold it to the guy across the road as he'd knock on my door every Saturday morning asking if I was willing to sell it! It was the only one in the area and whilst there were plenty of MG Metros around, I never encountered another Turbo while I owned it.
I had two MG Metros, 1st one was Red C739MRG and second a silver car E516BRG. I now own a 1978 MGB Roadster, all original panels and zero rust.
My dad ran a garage in the midlands for AR at the time, he sorted my brother a mk1 metro turbo that used to pop the drive shafts out monthly as it had sticky Fulda’s,at the time I’ll always remember the story of the Doctor in Feckenham , who bought a green MG Maestro turbo and wrapped it round a tree, two days later he came back in and said “green was an unlucky colour” and bought a second MG Maestro turbo within a week in red though. I wasn’t so lucky, I had champagne beige 1.6HLS maestro, C680 TUY, that loved wheel bearings, luckily I sold it for a 216 SE with a walnut dash 🫣
They should have slapped that running gear into a Montego Countryman estate, now that would have been one hell of a load lugger
Someone should make one, a fast countryman would be cool.
& a good sleeper .
They also did a 220gti and 220 Gsi turbo. I owned 2 of the 220 gsi turbos (apparently out of circa 500) a racing green one and a blue one. I had many MG metro/montego and maestro… but only one was a turbo, an early silver montego turbo. I had a lovely red mg montego which I can still remember the reg of - F450NUT
One of the MG metro’s I paid £20 for when I was about 18 😂
I had a maestro in the 90's, it went like a rocket, plus it never needed much to keep it on the road, I drove all over east Yorkshire and only had to put fuel in and make sure oil and water was topped up and never needed anything else, one of the best cars I've owned.
I was at the Montego turbo press day at Donnington race track... Same day as the 6R4 was demonstrated by Tony pond...
Highly underrated car the Monty in general always thought they drove really well, The Turbo was hilarious far faster than most people expected.
Worked in a Rover Dealership from 1990 to 1996. Drove a late Metro Turbo that was disappointingly slow to be honest. Was a passenger in a few Montego Turbos including an early B reg Montego Turbo that changed lanes when the driver booted it because of the torque steer...most amusing. The highlight cars of the early 90s for me were the 827 Vitesse manuals for the noise of the engine and the 220 turbo coupes which were fast for their time and handled very well. We once had a visit from a Rover master technician and the car he drove down in was a very well used 220 hatchback which was a drivetrain test mule for the 220 turbo and it was tweaked up to around 250ish hp. It looked quite tatty and the exhaust on it was very non-standard looking and sounding. Also Ricardos used the Rover garage I worked at to do the servicing/warranty work on their 220 Turbo coupe test cars. They had at least 2 and they used them for testing a new LSD they were working on. Our mechanics were never allowed to drive them.
Motobuild were iconic for 300bhp+ Maestros and Montegos, ahh the early 90s we miss you
Loved my MG Montegos. The turbos were superb.
I remember seeing the Metro 6R4 at chatsworth rally in the 80's taking on the mighty Quatro, the Ford RS200, the Lancia Delta amongst others.. Great times...
I had a 1987 MG Maestro 2.0 EFI in the mid 90's. By that time it had 100K on the clock and was on its last legs. It was constantly breaking down but I have fond memories of it. It was actually pretty quick despite having the image as a granny wagon. I always wanted the MG Maestro Turbo but they were out of my price range at that time.
I had an 83 MG Metro Turbo in Zircon blue. Loved it.
Great vlog, memories. Was 97, was in 89 Toyota MR2 GTS (Grey) Was struggling to keep up with a Metro turbo round Loughborough. I liked the metro turbi, proper cool UK motor
Had the Mk1 MG Metro turbo B reg. Had to have a reconditioned gearbox cost £125 that's a lot to a 17-year-old back in the day.
I pushed the thing more than I drove it. Still remember the wine noise from the gearbox, though.
Good times 😁
I had the 2.0 EFI MG Maestro and always wanted the Turbo version, i have seen some people fit the tomcat engine into maestros, if only these engines got fitted at factory into the MG Maestro Turbos and tuned to over 250bhp as standard! obviously the Maestro would also had to have upgraded brakes and suspension to cope.
I briefly owned a red MG Montego Turbo in the mid '90s. I was living in South Oxfordshire at the time, and Rover variants were quite cheap there. It got stolen, and when it was recovered the damage made it beyond economical repair. My insurer gave me more than I had paid for it.
I had a red MG Maestro Turbo. Was a great machine. Wish I still had it☹️
My father had a Montego Turbo when I was a kid in the 90s, definitely my one of my favourites he owned. Fond memories of him blasting the A1 and me peeking at the speedo and over the dashboard. We later moved to Ireland where it was unfortunately stolen and burnt out, so bittersweet memories on that one.
I always liked the MG line.!
We had an 89 Montego estate, I loved it as a kid, my parents weren't so impressed though, it started to rust when it was only a year old, the doors leaked & despite going back to the dealer 4 times they were never fixed.!
There would be puddles in the front footwells.! 😉 😉
I saw Russ Swift at the 1990 North East motor show when he was sponsored by Austin Rover, he did everything he did in that fantastic advert & more.!
His young son had a 1/3 scale Mini.!! 👍 👍
They used to be so easy to steal. Great little drive though.
I bought the prototype MG Turbo in Mookraker and donated it to ARonline who used it then sold it to a long term enthusiast. To my knowledge its in a private collection. It could have launched earlier but Harold Musgrove said it was too quick for the brakes when testing
Having had Minis,and Mini Coopers and a Cooper S I bought a MG Metro Turbo new in 1985 It spent most of the 2 years of my ownership at the main dealers. It had 2 new engines fitted (One with a Main bearing failed and the other with a cracked engine block) It also had 2 turbocharges and a gearbox due to another bearing fail. Having lost faith in the car I sold it and bought a Ford Escort XR3i one of the best cars I ever had and I wish I had it still.
Remember test driving a MG Montego (many moons ago) it was insane amounts of power
Had an MG Montego Turbo. It was mental! It was white and some idiot decided to throw red paint over it. I was not happy as I only had it 2 weeks. Turns out it was my neighbour who was Jealous. Lets say he was dealt with appropriately 😉.
I used to work for a Rover dealer. In the 90’s when TWOCing was a thing a red Maestro Turbo had been stolen and was tearing up the streets of Lincoln being chased by numerous police cars. Got to work next day and there it was in our workshop. It ended up being rallied round a quarry before being dumped. The car had a short motor (insurance being tight wads), a turbo, head rebuild etc. and we fitted a new alarm. It was never the same again that car!
Another brilliant video. Thank you so much Tom.
I had a black MG Metro Turbo and loved it. Proper little go-cart. I was joining a dual carriageway with a passenger and was overtaken by a Renault 5GT Turbo with what looked like 5 rugby players inside. The thing flew past me at a tremendous speed and I turned around to my friend and said "I've got to get one of those". A 5 GT Turbo replaced the Metro and sadly both have gone now. I remember the Maestro Turbo coming out with a blistering 0-60 time.
I had a 1985 MG Maestro 2.0 EFI, best car I’ve ever had. So quick.
I had a 1986 MG montego turbo.....early one 180 bhp ....fast and furious.
Brakes hopeless, torque steer, tyres lasted 3000miles max.
Epic car....loved it, proper hooligan machine.
Had the metro turbo….. what a fun motor…..needed a intercooler…. But handled pretty good 😎👌🏽
Its good to hear a well rounded take on this era including not just the technical influences but the economics of Ford and GM importing from within the EC.
Happy torque steer days spent with my Montego Turbo. Absolutely bonkers car but sadly underdeveloped. Cost was £8000 new in 1986, and it lasted me until 1988 when I sold it to a relative.
5 cars later in 1992 I bought it back and kept it for another year. By then the novelty had worn off.
Don’t forget after these the 220 turbo ‘Tomcat’ engine also went into a 220 hatch and 420 GSi turbo . The 420 GSi turbo was a real sleeper. I had one, loved it and ‘chipped’ it adding Racelogic traction control. Shame the gearbox didn’t like the power 😬🤭😆
Super video Tom. Well researched and narrated, with some wonderful period footage.
Thank you! I hope I told the story well. The footage is thanks to all those ARG technical bulletins from way back when.
Thanks for this - I worked for Tickford at the Bedworth plant when they built the Maestro MG
The big problem with the Montego Turbo (and I assume Maestro Turbo too) was torque steer.
Dad test drove one when he was looking to replace his Cavalier SRi and didn't get one because of how badly it pulled to one side and then the other under hard acceleration.
Indeed, i had the factory demo MG for a weekend and managed to overtake a Pug 205 1.9 GTi without moving the steering wheel!
Scary story, my cavalier SRI pulled all over the place back then, if this was worse .... help
My brother had a Montego Turbo and I often borrowed it. It was very quick but the torque steer was horrific.
@@davekendall9749 - we had a first gen Cavalier SRi and the Montego was far worse!
One of my favourite cars, I've owned a few MG Maestros 👍👍 great video bud
Always quality information and video.
I appreciate that, thanks!
Thanks Tom another Awesome and interesting video, the MG Montego was sold here in New Zealand in Turbo & non turbo form in the Very early 1990's.
I had a maestro turbo in 1994 it was 89. If i remember rightly, it was quick, but the handling was terrible. The engine was all on the drivers side and a small gearbox on the passenger side, which really through the handling out, but was good fun and there were easily tuned .
Canley's surely near you duck? This was a really good watch. Thank you. 🙏
What an awesome presentation thank you sir for this video
Thanks Ralph, glad you enjoyed it
Enjoying these videos love a good history of cars keep up the work bud! (got a sub from me)
I didn’t have a Turbo but something perhaps rarer, a 1983 MG Maestro 1.6 with twin Weber carbs. My first car at 17 (in 1989) and I loved it. Even if it was impossible to hot start and idled like a dog it was so cool. I replaced it about a year later with a 1982 Cavalier 1.6SR (yes another rare model replaced with fuel injection less than a year after launch!) .. but I never liked the Vauxhall as much as the MG.
Many years ago a mate in his Metro thought it was funny to try and push me from behind but failed, a few mins later, I returned the favour and his little metro was no match for my Sierra and despite him being hard on the brakes, I pushed him though a red light into the middle of a junction then quickly reversed my car back behind the line but leaving him no room lol.
From what I can find out, these were all fitted with carburettors. Even in the 1980s that was an insane piece of engineering. If ever an engine needs fuel injection it is a turbocharged one. The differing manifold boost/vacuum pressures play havoc with the fuel/air ratio and require all sorts of measures to keep it correct. Lotus used carbs on the Esprit Turbo and although completely different animals to SUs they also required lots of mods to work. One of the biggest problems is that as the engine comes on boost the fuel will actually start to flow the wrong way through the fuel jets and back into the float chamber if a standard carburettor is used. A mad decision when the injection technology was available (even if it was a little crude). None of that, however, takes away from the real problem - the appalling build quality and reliability. I had a Maestro (non-turbo) at around that time and it was the most unreliable car I ever owned, either before or after. Snapping door handles, electronic failures, gearbox linkage coming detached on a regular basis, wet interior every time it rained, etc. My neighbour had the exact same model and all the exact same faults. I currently own a 1958 Austin Healey and it is a paragon of reliability by comparison, having never let me down.
More happy memories,cheers Tom 😉👍💪
Glad to hear it Alan, these were some great years for ARG
For performance hatches, these MG's were just the warming act for Rover. Its was the Concerto based 220 turbo that was the real hero. There was nothing in its class that was remotely close for straight-line performance (we needed to wait for the mk3 and transplant the T16 to get handling to match the performance) In a straightline the 220 turbo could beat the rally reps of the day. It never did handle that well tho, even with mods. I always found it s bit odd people look on the MG's with gooey eyes, but the 220 has generally been forgotten. Despite being both nicer and much faster car. And its T16 engine was fantastic
Great video mate
Thanks Gary, glad you enjoyed
A neighbour had the mg maestro turbo in green was in his sons class at school remember him driving us to school and my dad had a montego countryman estate and a montego vanden Plas saloon i had a mg metro in charcoal grey when i was 21
Worked in development and we had a metro 16v turbo, on the brakes section and it was a fast little car, but they never produced it, we also used a 420 16v chipped car and it was rapid , but they didnt want the boy racer tag, it was their downfall.
A school friend’s dad replaced his Rover SD1 with an MG Monty Turbo - it was a very nice car indeed, and he reckoned it went like stink - but it simply didn’t have the presence of the SD1 in my view. I love them now - I think that the MG ‘M’ cars were the high water-mark for ARG’s car range.
awesome vid Tom
Thanks Chris, appreciate it. Loved making this one.
Did I see you at Thoresby yesterday? Great video!
Interesting video Tom
I had a maestro turbo back in the day now. They were boosted up but they didn't blow up like one of the contributors to rovers demise said. I've also had a 16v one with a prototype non blown O series 16v .that engine didn't last long but car was featured in fast car in 91/92
I still have a late metro turbo which is stored but doesn't need much work and a prize winning maestro EFi
Cheers Russ
Mind was a B reg MG Montego 2.0 efi - lovely car.
These were a hell of a lot better than those who've never even sat in one would have you believe.
Quite why they didn't fit the already available MPi M16 abd tweak it a little to push around 160+bhp I'll never fathom out. Imagine an M16 turbo a-la the Rover 800 Tickford Turbo? 182bhp and plenty in reserve. But honestly, a mildly fettled M16 would have put up enough of a fight to battle with the frankly awesome mk2 Astra 16v.
I had a 1.6L Maestro... Which ended ip with ab early MG Montego gearbox, M16 from an 820Si (E111VOA gone but not forgotten!) gas dampers all around, turbo front and rear anti roll bars and turbo wheels (wider) and a full early Maestro talking digi dash grafted into the late type facia.
F38SNR, one of my all time favourite cars. It certainly shocked a few people at the lights 😂
I knew someone who loved his montego Mg turbo. And it was comfy
Had the pleasure to go through my apprenticeship working on these ...they were fast for the day...plenty wheel spin...but the bulld quality at times let them down....
Never had a Maestro turbo, but I had an Advantage which had the Turbo bodykit.
Those are quite rare now
@@tomdrives I think there's three left. I got mine for free, a neighbour gave it to me. I sold it for 500 quid in 2004. I doubt it's around any more
Great cars never gave me problems
Great video 👍 Had a MG metro turbo I needed more power so Avonbar high lift rockers Stewart gurr stage head and boost control.Fast in a straight line but not corners.Note the turbo metro engine has as standard has a special crank head oil pump so delete the turbo you have a competition mini series engine.
Would love to see a video about RSP!
My 2nd car in 1998 was a rover montego for £100 F655HNX done it up like the MG Turbo. All the exterior except the wheels.
"One of the greatest hot-hatch anomalies ever"
^^
I never met an MG Maestro T, that could touch my GTE.
Loved the MG range . I owned a few of them . There should be a remake
I had a regular MG Metro and felt the Rover Metro GtI I had afterwards was a better car, better suspension and the 16v injected K series was just smoother and produced more power that the MG Metro Turbo. My mum had what we called “The Flying Brick”, the MG Maestro Turbo. My Mum gave the “yoofs” a good run for their money.
I have a mgf vvc and love it but always wondered what it would be like with a turbo fitted.
I worked at a recently lost Austin dealership in my village as a teenager on Saturdays. There was one of these floating around the place. Once ordered and cancelled too late so floated around the yard, owner etc. I drove it once ay 17. Super quick. Faster than an RS Turbo felt...but Austin failed on one front...they forgot to fit any brakes. They where Shyte. Probably the same as a stock 1.3. Other than that it was a nice car (and I hated the Maestro/Montego).
Id an 85 mg turbo metro that I put a piper crossflow cam in it, it was a beast and yes I agree the gearboxes were a big big problem definitely needed a fifth gear in the metro and the factory head gaskets were common for blown out, i upgraded this with the cam loved that wee car A885RCR incase anyone sees this reg I'd love hear what happened to the car
I had a Metro Turbo. Bleeding nightmare!
Kept cutting out for no reason whatsoever and had a terrible run on when you turned it off.
Quite embarrassing on petrol forecourts!
I'd like you to cover this in future
I grew up on blackbird leys estate in the 90's it's bang opposite the factory! These cars used to get nicked all the time. Check out BBC Oxford riots...
Great video as always. Sadly , we never got these in the states. Were any LHD models built for the Continent ?
How about a video on the AC3000ME . Did you know that one was built with a Chrysler turbo four and custom bodywork ? There was a plan to sell them here , but Iacocca rejected the idea.
The only good thing about the metro turbo was finding a scrap one and slapping the a series and the brakes in a classic mini.
I had a mg montego efi, brilliant car. Traded it in for a montego turbo, pile of junk. Kept losing power after 3 months I swapped it for afford scorpio 2.9 4x4. The dealer took a further 3 months to find 3 pin size holes in the fuel tank this caused the car to suck air into the fuel lines which caused the loss of power.
One in that Maestro Red drove past me today. My mate had a Montego MG turbo, it had no windscreen. Was a total weapon, back when those cars were sold to some dodgy lads instead of being scrapped, cause now you have to accept ownership by law if the V5 isn't sent off properly. Great days. The Maestro was a Ferrari merker. I enjoyed my first car a lot, a B reg Metro MG. 1300ccs of enjoyment. The cream colour was lame though.
If only the turbo engine was offered on the Vanden Plas spec Maestro and Montego, All the luxury with speed and power.
That would’ve been an epic combination. They could have done the same with the countryman + MG Turbo + Vanden Plas, that would’ve been something else!
@@tomdrives
Absolutely 💯
I had a 420 SLI and christ that could shift. Head gasket went though 🤔
love it
Back in the late 80's in Essex the police got a new Maestro 741 was there number, it was not good to see that in your rear mirror. It was Driven by a young coper in Foster grants and black gloves, one night it handbrake'd around a corner and shot off. At that point it was realised that if you passed it going the other way you had to lose it before it turned around or you were "screwed" most of there other cars were mini metro's
My poor little Maestro 2.0L EFI was hot... but nowhere near that turbo monster. Now I wish I could have the Hyundai Ioniq as it has the looks of the Maestro
I’ll take a 6R4 thanks 🤩
Talk about rose tinted glasses. Yes, they were exciting and fast, but never Ferrari levels. They were still mundane and I remember them, being as I'm 67 now. However, I think most people probably have no idea what they are, but could tell you what any of the hot Fords were.
Well, by 1961 on the first Mini Coopers of 55bhp with the transverse A-series gearbox started to show the signs of weakness. Even tought it has been a lot of changes from that transmission up to the A+ spec for the turbo it is still a gearbox wich is very fragile. I can think of the combo of 13- inch wheels and enthusiastic drivers will kill that transmission in no time. With that said all the upgrades are avilable to make that box to work with very serious power nowdays. But you you should aviod any burn-out competions anyway with an A-series related transmission......
My MG Montego was bonkers quick ......... in a straight line, but the understeer was equally monumental, not as balanced as the 2wd Sapphire Cosworth but just as much fun.
Sim city 2000 - articulating splines
Alan Partridge!
Not sure the RS Turbo was the main driver...everything was turbo mad at the time....Audi & Saab had been way more established with Turbos so thry wanted a bit of the sparkle & it's fairly easy to impliment. The O Series was already in the Maestro too bht as you say it's basically a Montego anyway which always had the O Series. Very cool cars but like everything the legend iof performance grows with every year! Too fast is a relative term...more power than the chassis can readily handle is probably a fairer statement. A true 200bhp RST was a handful on standard suspension for example.