Full carbon fibre body, rear wheel drive and with a V8 from Ford, that’s the recipe for a true sports car, or simply the MG XPower SV! Our Behind the Wheel contributor for today, Steve, knew that he wanted an MG SV ever since they went into production in 2003 and we don’t blame him!  

So, how didthis mad creation come to be? In 2002, MG Rover bought out Italian car manufacturer Qvale and used their Mangusta model to create the basis of the XPower SV with the plan of making it MG’s new Halo car following their sale from the BMW brand in 2000. Nothing was straightforward about the production of the MG SV, its carbon fibre body, made up from over 3000 separate pieces of carbon fibre material was manufactured in the UK to then be shipped to Italy to be fitted to the chassis before returning to the UK for the final fit and finish (definitely not a very cost effective approach!).  

Steve’s favourite thing about the MG SV is its aggressive looks and how it’s so different from anything else on the road. The aggressive design is courtesy of Peter Stevens, who many of you may know from his earlier work designing the McLaren F1. 

This SV is by no means a garage queen, despite being an incredibly well-kept example Steve gets out there and drives his MG. He even underwent a three-week-long road trip to the Italian Grand Prix and Monaco in the SV; we bet that a lot of the supercar spotters in Monaco had never seen one of these before!  

Prior to Steve’s ownership the SV had endured a tough start to life, including being repossessed twice. When Steve came across the SV at an auction house, he made an offer which he was happy to pay and was thrilled when he got the phone call to say that his offer had been accepted. He only owned the car for a couple of months before disaster struck… the oil pump had failed.  

Rather than doing a half-hearted job, Steve decided to go all-in despite only owning the car for a short while. He opted for an all-new, upgraded SVR 5.0L V8 quad-cam, fully forged engine with a Ford Racing inlet manifold built by the original XPower Canadian engine builder. For a car this rare, only the best would do.  

The total number of MG XPower SVs ever built is still up for debate, but it is widely accepted that approximately 82 units were built with roughly 42 of those being the SVR. Making Steve’s SV a very rare car. This specific car, however is even more unique; it was the first MG SV ever sold! It is also one of only two to ever be built in this specific colour, with the other being a left-hand drive SVR.  

Steve’s future plans with the MG are simple, to keep the car and just enjoy it – that’s what we like to hear! You won’t miss this eye-catching MG SV the next time it pulls into one of our meets so make sure to have a look around this rare beast.  

Car Facts: 

Make: MG 

Model: SV 

Year: 2003 

Engine: Originally 4.6 16v V8, now a 5.0 quad cam 32v fully forged engine 

BHP: approx. 420 (320 from factory) 

Top Speed: 165mph (standard SV), 174mph (standard SVR with 380bhp) 

0-62: 5.4 seconds (standard SV), 4.4 seconds (standard SVR) 

Weight: 1580kg 

Additional modifications: All completely standard apart from the engine