The death of MG-Rover came about for two main reasons, firstly the company was ran into the ground by a team of management that focused on re-engineering a front wheel drive Rover 75 into a rear wheel drive V8 Rover 75 and focusing on re-branding an oddball super car into the MG line up rather than producing much needed new compact models that would have actually sold in considerable numbers. Secondly Rovers had become known as unstable kettles that would leave you stranded by the road with steam gently rolling against your face whilst tears rolled down your cheeks. The tale of the exploding head gasket wasn’t always the case, but urban legends quickly became the stereotype for all Rovers.

When SAIC took the reigns at Nanjing Auto Corp, (NAC originally became the custodian of Longbridge and MGR’s associated IPR in 2005) work started on strengthening the Rover range of tech with the 1.8T unit becoming the flagship of the range with it being rebranded as a KAVACHI engine and was put in the MG6, the MG7, Roewe W5 and Roewe 750.

On Boxing Day, that’s December 26th for everyone who is not part of the British Commonwealth, I spotted this poor chap standing by his steaming MG7, being a relatively cold day with the temperature circulating around -5 the owner was looking utterly miserable whilst he stood staring into the engine bay whilst steam rolled around his face.