It’s hardly surprising that the MG restomod scene is having a moment. Companies like Frontline can thrive because there are very fond memories of simple sports cars like the B - but also plenty of ways they can significantly be improved. They’ll always be pretty, there remain quite a few around because of their popularity in period, and with companies like British Motor Heritage still making shells the possibilities are almost endless. And who wouldn’t be intrigued by the very best an MG B can be?
This isn’t a new phenomenon, however. Frontline was set up in 1991, and some odd decisions made by MG back in the day meant a strong aftermarket scene soon emerged off the back of its little sports cars. Having done the decent thing and put the V8 into a B to make the GT, MG never made a GT Roadster - what a great little hot rod that could have been. It wasn’t until the launch of the RV8, almost 20 years on from the launch of the MG B GT, that the Rover V8 got its drop-top calling. Only by then it wasn’t so pretty anymore.
This led a few to wonder what a more modern take on the MG B GT might be like. A company called Maidstone Sports Cars ran with the idea in the mid-'90s, melding some MG B with RV8 to create this, the RV8 GT. Or the car that MG never made and perhaps should have. According to the advert for this one, five were built about 30 years ago (so perhaps the idea wasn’t quite as popular as it might have been) with everything you’d hope to see from a modern restomod: more power, more style, better suspension and brakes, plus a big bill at the end of it.
This one was a famous RV8, featuring in magazines and on Top Gear. Built from a 1977 donor car, more than £23,000 was spent in 1995 (£56k in today’s money) turning it into a GT. Since then it’s said to have received an even larger V8 (from 3.9 to 4.6) and more recently a £10k respray in Old English White. Once used as a daily driver with a car phone (!), it’s covered 20,000 miles since the conversion and is ready to rile up purists at your local classic car rally.
Looks pretty cool, right? The RV8 could never look truly modern, even by '90s standards, because there was still some heavily revised MG B underneath, but there’s certainly something sportier and more purposeful about a hardtop riding low on Minilites. The interior ages it rather more than the outside (little wonder so much time is spent on redoing them now), though even a new steering wheel would surely help it significantly. Don’t forget even the overhaul was 30 years ago.
The asking price is £25k, which is no longer extraordinary money for any of the old MGs. There are low mileage soft-top RV8s at more than £30k, and even four-cylinder Bs not far off if they’re exceptional. None will be quite so rare (it’s reckoned just three of these GTs are now in the UK) or as interesting as the MSC build, and there’s the potential of something quite smart to drive here as well. If nothing else, it’s likely to raise a smile and get people talking - a large part of why we love old classics of all shapes and sizes in the first place.
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