MGs are rolling out from Longbridge in Birmingham to dealers up and down the country. It’s a historic moment, well historic in that the last time it happened was 2005. This isn’t any old MG though; it’s the new MG TF LE500. The uprated, more modern looking 2 seater sports car is set to go on sale from 20th September.
Shanghai Automotive (SAIC) is hoping to produce 700 of the model by the end of the year. The LE500 comes at the not unreasonable cost of only £16,500 – putting it in the same price bracket as the Mazda MX-5 soft top (it comes with a price tag of £15,750).
The LE500 designation is only suitable for the first 500 cars, as they are going to be individually numbered. Whether this will make them a collectors’ item remains to be seen, but having a little numbered plaque will certainly make your MGTF stand out from the crowd. You’re buying into a little bit of history you see. It’s certainly a fresh start after all the layoffs at the factory.
Moving on to the car, the stats for the LE500 include an mpg of 36, a rather high (at least these days) CO2 count of 185g/km, and a 9 second sprint to 60. The top speed of the car weighs in at a tasty 125mph. For your money you get the decent hard top, leather and air conditioning. Power comes from the 1.8 16v 135bhp unit. Whilst none of this might sound particularly inspiring, the car does look good and should offer a viable alternative to the MX-5 and other small two seaters.
The figures, in my opinion, don’t really do the car justice. You see, I’ve driven an old TF and I can tell you that they are genuine good fun. You are put you low down in the car, so you get chucked about as if you were in a go kart. I’m sure the rear-wheel-drive mid-engine layout certainly helps a lot to give the right dynamics too. It is simply a great way to spend a sunday afternoon, or even just a morning driving to work.
After seeing this picture, I actually quite fancy one myself. I’ll see if I can wrangle a test drive when I’m actually allowed to drive again 🙂