This is the claim that Austin Rover made in 1989. The entry level Ferrari Mondial had a 0-60 time of 7.0 seconds, wheras the MG Maestro Turbo could reach sixty in 6.7 seconds. Hence the claim.
The MG Maestro Turbo was launched at the Birmingham International Motorshow in October 1988. The car on show, MG Maestro Turbo no. 1, was slightly different from the production car as it had seats from the previous year's 2.0i model and the turbo decal on the tailgate was slightly lower than it was on the other 504 cars. Painted in Flame Red, which was a new colour and with the new 15" lattice alloys, this car was certainly striking. The most interesting addition to the car, apart from the turbo-charged engine that had previously only been used in the MG Montego, was the new five-piece bodykit.
Aston Martin Tickford had been approached to manufacture the bodykit that featured new aggressive-looking front and rear bumpers, full-length side skirts and a roof-level tailgate spoiler to complement the three-piece spoiler that was fitted to the standard MG Maestro. The kit was fully colour-coded as were the door mirrors, grille and side rubbing strips. Tickford had also been involved in fine-tuning the suspension of the new model and were also involved in the manufacture of the car. However, unlike the Tickford Metro, the bodykit was actually designed by Austin Rover, not Tickford themselves.
Every MG Maestro Turbo was built at Rover's Cowley plant. All the cars left the factory without bumpers or decals. They were then sent on transporters to Tickford in Bedford, Warwickshire in small batches of about four to six. At Tickford the bodykits were fitted and the decals were applied. This included the small tailgate "turbo" graphic and the large graphics that run the whole length of the front and back doors.
When the cars were finished and had undergone a short road test, they were returned to Rover for distribution to dealerships. Tickford also assigned a build no to each car, known as the Tickford build no.
The MG "M" Group have all the records for all 505 MG Maestro Turbos and can supply a certificate of authenticity and a plaque that reads:
Many MG Maestro Turbo owners have these plaques fitted to the dashboard of their cars. The MG "M" Group also supply a lager plaque for the engine bay. The certificate of authenticity lists information about each car such as the date that the car went to Tickford and details about the other cars in the batch. It is highly recommended that anyone considering buying an MG Maestro Turbo should contact the MG "M" Group, to ensure that the car they are looking at is one of the original 505 cars, before they make their purchase.
Apart from the press cars, all MG Maestro Turbos went to Tickford between February and November 1989. Despite this many of the cars were registered in 1990 and 1991 and Austin Rover featured the model in their brochures until at least June 1991.
In addition to no. 1, which was used at the 1988 Birmingham Motorshow, four more press cars were built - one in each of the available colours. These cars were registered as F996RHP F997RHP F998RHP and F999 RHP. The most well known of these is no.2 which is registered as F998RHP. This car was featured on BBC's Top Gear and is now owned by an MG "M" Group member who lives in Devon. F996RHP is no. 5 and it is finished in Factory Black, F997 is no. 4 and it is finished in Flame Red and was featured in Autocar and Motor on 10th May 1989. Finally, F999 is no. 3 and this car was used by the police after it had finished its time as a press car. They bought it to help them remember their phone number.
Another red car, registered as F121 AOP, was also used as a press car and can be seen on the front cover of the Transport Source Books publication of Road Tests and Articles on the MG Maestro. This is a fascinating publication, compiled by Trevor Adler and a must for all MG Maestro enthusiasts.
As mentioned above, MG Maestro Turbos were built in four colours. These were the same colours that the MG Maestro 2.0i was now available in after Ocober 1988. It is thought that the increased use of colour-coding made it difficult to produce a larger range of colours so Flame Red, British Racing Green, White Diamond and Factory Black were offered. The cars all feature contrasting red insert strips and decals apart from the Flame Red cars, which have black strips and decals. However all the large turbo logos on the sides of all 505 cars were a dark grey colour. As you can see in the table below, the MG Maestro Turbos were not finished in these colours in equal numbers.
| Colour | Numbers built | Percentage |
| Flame Red | 215 | 43% |
| British Racing Green | 149 | 29.5% |
| White Diamond | 92 | 18% |
| Factory Black | 49 | 9.5% |
The MG Maestro Turbo is fitted with a 2.0 litre O-Series engine, which is very similar to the engine fitted to the MG Montego Turbo. Some people say that the MG Maestro Turbo has a slightly more powerful engine - but this is not correct. The 152 PS quoted for the Maestro is in fact the same power output as the 150 bhp quoted for the Montego. It is the unit of measurement that altered, not the power output. Weight alone accounts for the improved acceleration.
It has also been rumoured that the power output of the Turbo engine was increased to about 170bhp in 1987 due to changes to the exhaust manifold and that this increase was not homologated so that insurance rating would not increase. It is difficult to say whether or not this is tue.
The unit has a single overhead camshaft, eight valves and is fed through a single SU-carburettor (SU HIF 44E). It is therefore much simpler than some more modern engines. The engine was fitted with the variable choke and electronic idle speed control from the 2.0 EFi engine. It also has sodium-cooled valves and the Garrett T3 turbocharger is aided by an intercooler, which is said to add about 20 bhp to the final output of the engine. Crudely speaking the 2.0 engine with SU carburretor produces 100bhp, the turbocharger adds 30bhp and the intercooler adds a further 20bhp.
Unfortunately, the MG Maestro Turbo was never approved to run on unleaded fuel. Even if you own a 1991 registered car four-star fuel is recommended. This is because, although the MG Montego Turbo was capable of taking unleaded fuel by this point, all MG Maestro Turbos were built in 1989 with 1989 engines. In effect there is no such thing as a 1990 or 1991 MG Maestro Turbo because the last one left Tickford in November 1989.
The MG Maestro Turbo is renowned amongst MG circles as being a very fast car because of its incredible acceleration. It is faster to 60mph than any MG ever built at Abingdon or any of the new front-wheel drive MG Saloons that were launched in September 2001. In fact the only production MG to have a quicker 0-60 time is the car that replaced the MG Maestro range, the MG RV8, which has a 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds. When it was launched, the MG Maestro Turbo was the fastest front-wheel drive car available in the UK. It is still the fastest MG Saloon car that has ever been built. However, the new MG ZT260 has a faster 0-60 time, but that car is rear-wheel drive and it has a 4.6 litre V8 engine. It seems unlikely that a faster FWD MG will ever be built.
The table below shows a comparison of 0-60 times with other MGs.
| Model | MGB | MGC | MGB GT V8 | MG Metro Turbo | MG Maestro Turbo | MG Montego Turbo | MG RV8 | MGF 1.8i VVC | MG ZR 160 | MG ZS 180 | MG ZT 190 | MG TF 160 | MG ZT 260 |
| Year | 1962 | 1969 | 1974 | 1983 | 1989 | 1985 | 1992 | 1996 | 2001 | 2001 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
| 0-60 | 12.5 | 10.0 | 8.0 | 9.5 | 6.7 | 7.3 | 5.9 | 7.0 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 6.9 | 6.2 |
My MG Maestro turbo, no. 500
This is my old MG Maestro Turbo. It is no. 500, originally registered on 16th February 1990 as G818 REW. I sold this car to another enthusiast in January 2005
These photos were taken in February 2001 after the car had been fully restored and re-sprayed. I used these photos to get an agreed insurance valuation. If you own an MG Maestro Turbo, it is best to insure it through a classic car broker and get an agreed value for the car. If you use a normal insurance company it could cost much more, and the company would only pay out for the price of an Austin Maestro in the event of a claim, i.e. less than 10% of your car's value
In 2000, 2001 and 2002 the MG Maestro Turbo Run took place on the first Sunday in August. The run started at 10am at the MG Car Club's HQ in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. MG Maestro Turbo owners drove their cars to The Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire for the MG Marque Day. In 2001 about fifteen MG Maestro Turbos parked on the lawn in front of the museum making an impressive display. Unfortunately since teh Ford motor company bought the Gaydon Heritage Centre from B*W, the MG Marque day has not taken place and the Turbo run has stopped.
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Both the major MG publications, MG Enthusiast and MG World, regularly feature articles on MG saloon cars. The August/September 2002 edition of MG World featured an article on a heavily modified MG Maestro Turbo and the June 2000 edition of MG Enthusiast (pictured) featured a lengthy article on the history of the MG Maestro Turbo. If you click on the red text above you can visit the websites of these publications. |
