With a hefty 1778kg kerbweight (our figure, and in excess of Rover’s claim) the V8’s power-to-weight ratio of 144bhp per tonne doesn’t seem enough for a British muscle car. Indeed, despite impressive acceleration figures (0-60mph in 6.5sec) it doesn’t feel that swift in practice, working hard to pull through the four long gear ratios and feeling constrained by its inertia. At high revs it sounds coarse and harsh, too.
Where the V8 impresses is in its ability to mooch around at very low crank revolutions – surely MG Rover’s desired intention – effortlessly pushing the 75 around to the accompaniment of a deep-throated rumble. Driven gently it is a pleasurable experience, but it needs a more advanced gearbox. There’s no Jaguar J-gate-style manual override, but driven in a relaxed style the shifts become smoother.
We already know that converting the 75’s front-drive chassis to a rear-drive one is a success in the ZT 260, and the same is largely true for the Rover V8. As you might expect, it’s less fun than the overtly sporting MG, rolling more in the corners and falling into understeer sooner. But the steering retains its light-yet-accurate action, and the ride is greatly improved, retaining a high proportion of the MG’s body control and adding a soothing gait to forward motion. Our test car rode on optional 18-inch rims (17s are standard) and we feel it would be worth sticking with the standard items, making a small sacrifice in looks for an improvement in ride: the larger rims stumble perceptibly over small ridges and broken bitumen. Outright grip is respectably high, and this is no touring-car hooligan: it takes a large amount of provocation to get the V8’s tail sliding into oversteer.