The ZT 260’s iron block and the new hardware have added 200kg, pinning the car to just 155bhp per tonne. MG Rover claims 6.2sec to sixty, and our wet 6.7sec time bears this out. We couldn’t match its claimed 155mph max, but on a damp speed bowl, 149mph is near enough.
In the real world, its performance is more special even than these figures suggest. For a start there’s the noise: by Detroit V8 standards it’s pretty mundane, but by anyone else’s measure its rumble and thunder sound great.
Then there’s all 302lb ft of torque. It’s best illustrated in fourth gear, when every 20mph increment from 20mph to 100mph is dispatched to within 0.2sec of 5.6sec. Forget stirring around for the right gear; plant your foot, and the car just goes. Which is just as well. MG has chosen sensible gear ratios, but the lever’s ponderous action inserts long pauses into through-the-gears acceleration.
But equally, over 300lb ft of torque in a rear-drive car with no form of traction control could result in a nightmare. Happily, MG Rover has got its chassis sums spot on. Spring rates have been kept similar to those of the ZT 190, and the suspension geometry provides a gentle transition into oversteer. Ultimate grip levels have been sacrificed in search of real balance. It is an approach we applaud, for the result is one of the best-handling saloons we have recently encountered.
It will understeer a shade as you turn in, and oversteer if prompted at its exit, but its fundamental handling is neutral. Committed drivers can showboat; the more discreet approach is to allow all four tyres to exhibit equal amounts of slip and then fine tune your line. A BMW 330i is a fine car, but it won’t reward an appreciative driver like this one will. In fact, the only shortcomings are the poor lock and a slight lack of steering feel.
At a less energetic pace, the ZT 260 continues to impress. Its ride is firm and, although behind BMW and Mercedes levels, it brings impressive body contro