XPress power

MGs on Track regular, Dave Pearce, has a range of MGs at his disposal including this rather special XPower SV-R.

- JIM JUPP

Never meet your heroes, they say, and I suppose the same goes for cars you’ve always hankered after. For me, the SV and SV-R have always been on the list. Whenever I see one at a show I will always be drawn to take a cheeky snap. There is something just so brutal about them. Having read about them in magazines like Autocar, when the original XPower SV and SV-R were launched, my first encounter with one was at an MG Rover dealership, south of London, just as MG Rover started to wobble. The dealership was keen to shift the brute. Though I can’t remember the discounted price I know it was well out of my price range.

Move on to 2019, and my first chance actually to sit in an SV, having attended an MGs on Track session at Snetterton, in Norfolk: Dave Pearce is a regular at these events and regular readers will know we’re big fans of them. Dave’s SV-R can often been seen supporting MGs on Track at publicity events.

I don’t think any SV could be accused of being an average car but the later 2004 SV-R model upped the game from its 2003 predecessor, with an 80bhp power hike thanks to a slightly larger 5.0-ltr Ford V8. Arguably, this particular car had something a bit extra as it was the SV-R press car, used by the likes of Auto Express, with all the bells and whistles which carried a supercar level price tag: £1550 for SatNav and £2200 for climate control. The paint option on this car is reported to have been £1500. This is on top of the £17,200 increase from the SV, to £82,950, plus other extras.