Rover's long-term future.

[Ion Pulse]

Finally MG Rover can look forward to some stability after years of financial turmoil. So what is MG Rover going to do to fight back. The Midlands firm is going to increase its product portfolio in four key areas. over the next four years, it will be developing two new cars called the Rover R2 and R3. The first new model to appear- the R3- will slot between the Rover 25 and 45. It has been confirmed that it will be based on the Ford Focus-sized Proton Gen.2 platform. The use of Proton's platform is the result of a buisness agreement between MG Rover and Proton that was agreed in June. The deal is to expand both companies influence globally. The Malaysian link will not threaten production of Rover cars in the UK either. The deal is similar to a deal between Rover and Honda in the eighties, which intailed manufacturing their own cars based on the same architecture. A complete Gen.2 production line is being prepared so that MG Rover can build the R3 in house, safeguarding thousands of West Midlands jobs. The R3 will also start a new naming policy for Rover. Instead of being called the Rover 35 as might have been expected, the R3 will be named using letters instead of numbers. The car will use Proton's own 1.4 and 1.6 engine units, a diesel will be sourced from an external manufacturer. Further developments will come in 2006, with replacements for the budget CityRover and 25 supermini. The successor will once again be co-developed with Proton, and will be based on the secret TRM supermini. The car will go head to head with the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa and will be powered with 1.2 and 1.4 engines from Proton. Expected to be named simply R2 and unvieled at the 2006 Geneva Motorshow. It again will be built in-house by both companies. Both R2 and R3 are currently being fine-tuned by Proton-owned Lotus in readiness for European debut, and with the Norfolk-based companies reputation for offering world-class chassi engineering means they should be great to drive. That will definetly appeal to MG fans, MG versions of the car are anticipated to. A Z2 version could be possible along with a Z3 version which could be based on Proton's SRM. The SRM will form the basis for the Proton Satria GTI's replacement. As with the current range MG wil offer sporty styling, sporty suspesion settings to differenate from Rover models. Also due in 2006 is the CityRover replacement, a model which will continue to be produced in India by TATA. However MG Rover has sent engineers to work with TATA to talior the car for more European tastes. Mean while the long-awaited Rover 45 replacement will become a rival to the Ford Mondeo and will be styled similarly to the TCV concept of 2002. The TCV will also represent a estate model. The 45 replacement will come in estate,saloon and hatchback body styles. Once again the 45 will have Proton influence. Likely to be called the Rover R4 and MG Z4. The final piece of MG Rover's comeback jigsaw will fall into place in 2008 with a Rover 75 replacement. The replacement for the executive-car will be developed in tandem with Shanghai Automotive Industry Coroporation(SAIC) with which MG Rover bosses also signed a buisness agreement in June. The new model will be built in Britain and China, and will be exclusivly designed by Rover,using engines from the Chinese manufacturer and a uprated Rover KV6 engine. It will be called the Rover R6 and MG R6. Leaving the R5 name avaliable for another model, which could be a top-secret Compact-MPV which is being developed with TATA based on their Indiva concept car. Thrers no indication how much these projects will cost but some exciting times lie ahead for the British firm after years of financial struggle.


Rover TCV Concept.

Rover R4(45 replacement)

Proton Gen.2

Rover R3

[PJF220]

Information overlaod.....and been about for quite a while now too.

The R3 and R6 names were used for the 200/25 and metro/100 respectively so I guess the new cars will be based on those models? I might be repeating what has been said but that was way too much info to read.

[Ion Pulse]

Sorry if its a bit long winded heres Rover's long-term future slightly simplified:-

2005-Rover R3 & MG Z3 launched to slot in between 25 and 45 models as a Ford Focus rival, based upon Proton Gen.2
2006-Rover R2 & MG Z2 launched to replace Rover 25 and MG ZR ranges to rival Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa, based on Protons forthcoming superminis the TRM and SRM.
2006-Rover R4 & MG Z4 launced to replace Rover 45 and MG ZS and will be styled like TCV concept and will feature practical estate version, will rival Ford Mondeo and Honda Accord, will be co-developed with Proton.
2006-New Rover CityRover launched and will be based on a all-new TATA Indica platform and will be built in India.
2008-Rover R6 launched to replace Rover 75 and will be co-developed and powered by chinese firm SAIC.
2008-New Rover R5 launched as Compact-MPV and will be based on TATA's Indiva concept and will be built in India by TATA.

[Ion Pulse]

I take back what I said being set in stone, as the Proton-Rover deal is now off. Although the SAIC deal is still on course and a partnership with FSO Daewoo to produce the 75/ZT in Poland is moving forward. Expect 75s made in Poland to appear late next year.