MG Rover bidders reveal designs

18 July 2005

Tantalising glimpses of what future MG Rovers could look like have been released by bidders still in the running for the company.

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Tantalising glimpses of what future MG Rovers could look like have been released by bidders still in the running for the company.

Chinese firm Nanjing Automotive says its cars, designed by engineering consultancy Arup, would be built at Longbridge or another UK site if its bid for MG Rover is successful.

The images show a new MG Midget, a replacement for the aged Rover 45/MG ZS and a larger ‘luxury sports saloon.’ Arup has plenty of automotive experience and helped Rover develop the sportier MG versions of its cars.

Business troubleshooter David James has also shown what his bid, called Project Kimber, would do with the brand.

His British-backed bid promises to restart production at Longbridge and would produce a three-strong range of sporty coupes and convertibles.

It would also include a new Midget, a new MG B and GT, and a range-topping convertible to rival the Porsche Boxster.

Nanjing and James are bidding against Chinese firm Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), and its partner Martin Leach, for MG Rover.

Rumours suggest that PricewaterhouseCoopers will decide which of the three bids is successful this week, but there is no official timetable on the process from the administrators.

MG Rover collapsed into administration in April after talks with potential partner SAIC failed. So far, several thousand employees have been made redundant, but with a small-scale car-manufacturing business could result from the imminent sale of the remaining assets.

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