MG TF deliveries due

Deliveries of the revised MG TF, back in production after a gap of more than three years, will start in the middle of next month.

The two-seater mid-engined sports car, which had disappeared in mid-2005 when MG-Rover went bust, is being produced at the rate of 48 a week at the Longbridge factory in Birmingham.

MG is now in the hands of a Chinese consortium made up of Nanjing Automotive (NAC) and Shanghai Automotive (SAIC).

Bodies and mechanical parts are shipped in from China, with painting and assembly taking place in the UK.

The resurrection of MG will not stop with the return of the TF. The group has plans to introduce four new models, including a replacement for the TF, within 'three to five years'.

There will be a Vauxhall Vectra-sized saloon, based on the Roewe 550 made by SAIC in China; a Ford Focus-sized car and a supermini as well as the new sports car.

A complete new engine family including a diesel, new automatic and six-speed manual transmissions, hybrids and alternative-fuel cars are also part of the grand plan.

Engineering and design work are being carried out in the UK, though it has not yet been decided where manufacturing and assembly will take place.

The TF relaunch begins with the fully equipped 16,399 LE 500, of which only 500 are being made. However, by the end of the year a cheaper, lower-spec version will go into production.

Italy, Germany, France and Spain are due to get Longbridge-made TFs some time next year, when NAC and SAIC hope to up production to around 4000 cars.