This MG ZR took part in the 10k-mile London to Cape Town rally in 2012 – fourteen years later it’s still going strong
Among the assorted hatchbacks competing in his local rally, Edward Luxton’s MG ZR is something of a celebrity. Fourteen years ago, it took part in the London to Cape Town Rally – 29 days of hard driving across some of the world’s most unforgiving terrain. Prepared by Owen Turner of Complete Rally Services and crewed by Rachel Vestey and Suzy Harvey, it finished 28th out of 41 cars.
And now here it is, at the ripe old age of 25, still doing the business but this time on a challenging course around a military base in north Devon. “It’s my first time behind the wheel – until now I’ve been the navigator and Dad’s done the driving – but I’m loving it!” says Edward, an apprentice with National Grid and soon to turn 19.
“It may be his last chance if he carries on the way he is,” says his dad. It’s banter, of course at this early stage of his career, it wouldn’t do for the kid to be too cocky. In any case, out of the driving seat there’s maintenance work to be done.
Edward lets slip that his dad has a collection of ZRs and Rover 25s that runs into double figures, most of them, like Edward’s ZR, sourced from Facebook. More than 10? “A few more than that,” he says.
It sounds crackers until you remember how popular the MG ZR once was. In fact, during the four years that it was on sale (from 2001 to 2005), it was one of Britain’s most popular small sporting hatchbacks and it became a firm favourite with younger, cash-strapped drivers in its later years.
It was offered with a choice of engines – petrols represented by 16-valve K-series units ranging from a 1.4-litre to a range-topping 1.8-litre VVC producing 159bhp, and diesels by a 2.0-litre engine available in two power outputs. Towards the end of its life, it attracted the attention of designer Peter Stevens – of McLaren F1 supercar fame – who gave it a well-received facelift.
However, one thing bothers me about Edward’s ZR: its engine. It’s a 1.6. As far as I know, there was never a 1.6 ZR. Correction: there was a 1.6-litre engine but it was used only in the ZR’s siblings, the Rover 25 and 45. The government’s MOT check service confirms this car’s engine capacity as a 1.6, so what’s the explanation?
A call to Owen Turner provides the answer. “The class rules of the rally dictated that 1600cc was the maximum size, so I fitted engines from Rover 45s to the three ZRs I entered. The other two cars are also still being used,” he says.
Staying with the MOT checker, the car’s MOT history makes fascinating reading. Its 2012 test in particular reveals just what a state it was in on its return from the London to Cape Town Rally. It failed on 11 serious faults, most notably corrosion of all four coil springs.
Today, its suspension is in better shape largely thanks to that ZR/25 collection of Edward’s dad, which, says Edward, exists to provide an inexhaustible supply of spare parts. “When something breaks on this one, we cannibalise another for its replacement,” he says.
It sounds like a sad end for a once well-regarded model but at least those 10 or so ZRs/25s are helping to sustain one of their kin and a young man’s dream of rally stardom.
