MG collection goes up for sale

[Thumper]

I see from the advert in today's Autosport that Mike Newton is selling off four of his MG prototypes. That includes both the ex-works EX257s from Le Mans 2001/2002, the EX264 that won LMP2 at Le Mans in 2005 (with Mike, Tommy and Warren Hughes) and last year's HPD coupé, which started life as the EX265c.

I had heard rumours that the latter was already sold, so was intrigued to see a Lola HPD listed on the Le Mans entry list yesterday for Level 5. Not the same car then? However, the sale blurb suggests that the RML coupé could be reverted back to MG specification, if a collector fancied the full set.

The only one missing is the EX265 that went to RLR, and that will be back on track again for this year's LMS - still in the red, white and blue RML-inspired scheme, I believe.

Can we expect Chinese interest here?

[d.rocky]

from RML's site

http://www.mazda-lola.com/news/news2...llection01.htm

[The Badger]

I had heard that level 5 were using a Lola Coupe for the ILMC and Le Mans , and also heard that it was the ex RML car .

Well , that was false then .

[Victor_RO]

Very interesting snippet...

Technically perhaps, the EX265C only ever raced once. Fitted with the MG XP-21 turbocharged unit, the coupé competed at Silverstone in 2008 and was then completely refurbished. It reappeared for the 2009 season fitted with the Mazda AER MZR-R 2.0 litre turbocharged engine. Still beautiful, and bearing the familiar red, white and blue livery, the Mazda-powered car contested the full Le Mans Series and also the 24 Hours in 2009, but never finished a single race. The engine took an instant dislike to the new regulation fuel of that year, and despite the best efforts of the AER and RML technicians, the unit failed repeatedly.

In a last-ditch effort to get a result, the team replaced the MZR-R for the final round of the year at Silverstone, and duly earned themselves a long-overdue second-place finish. Now, eighteen months or so later, it’s fair to admit that the engine that went back in on that occasion was the MG XP-21. The record books may never state as much, but the EX265C did race twice, and finished on the podium as a swansong.

[Thumper]

Not sure where that first paragraph came from, as the page states: "the Mazda-powered car contested the full Le Mans Series and also the 24 Hours in 2009, but finished only one race." The coupé finished seventh in the Algarve.

[GTRMagic]

Is there much of a market for these cars, orphans as they are, and arguably more suited to a collector than a racer?

The most recent car is advertised Here at GBP375k! Which isnt cheap for something that the team itself says wasnt that brilliant a performer

[Joe Taylor]

Originally Posted by Thumper

Not sure where that first paragraph came from, as the page states: "the Mazda-powered car contested the full Le Mans Series and also the 24 Hours in 2009, but finished only one race." The coupé finished seventh in the Algarve.

Well given the revelation in the final paragraph, that is technically correct.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Is there much of a market for these cars, orphans as they are, and arguably more suited to a collector than a racer?
(

I think there are quite a few people who still see the Lola HPD as a very competitive package, and that's the only one here that's being openly touted as a current racecar. It is the Le Mans Series LMP2 title-holder, after all. The EX264 could still be made raceworthy, and RLR's example is proof of that. Aside from Intersport's B06/10, entered for Sebring, I also believe there's a good chance we'll see at least one more open-topped Lola racing in the States again this season, so the concept's far from dead.

Perhaps the term you should be using is "grandfather" rather than orphan?

[MGDavid]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Is there much of a market for these cars, orphans as they are, and arguably more suited to a collector than a racer?

The most recent car is advertised Here at GBP375k! Which isnt cheap for something that the team itself says wasnt that brilliant a performer

it's certainly not cheap for a roller with NO ENGINE

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

. . . something that the team itself says wasnt that brilliant a performer

Yet what the team actually says is: "Combining the HPD engine’s excellent track record for reliability with RML’s meticulous preparation resulted in a racecar that never missed a beat. It ran faultlessly throughout 2010 to record a championship-winning performance, giving RML the team title, and Mike Newton and Thomas Erdos their second set of LMP2 drivers’ titles in the Le Mans Series."

[Bentley03]

Originally Posted by Thumper

Yet what the team actually says is: "Combining the HPD engine’s excellent track record for reliability with RML’s meticulous preparation resulted in a racecar that never missed a beat. It ran faultlessly throughout 2010 to record a championship-winning performance, giving RML the team title, and Mike Newton and Thomas Erdos their second set of LMP2 drivers’ titles in the Le Mans Series."

Not a word of a lie in that statement, although I think it's fair to say the 'off the shelf' Lola chassis lacked the outright pace of the ARX-01c.

Unlike others who have commented, I'd actually consider the price asked to be reasonable, especially when you consider the cost of a brand new example. Add to that the meticulous care that would have been lavished on the car by RML.

[Graham Goodwin]

Originally Posted by The Badger

I had heard that level 5 were using a Lola Coupe for the ILMC and Le Mans , and also heard that it was the ex RML car .

Well , that was false then .

Level 5 came close to buying the RML car but have bought a new (2010 spec) Lola Coupe instead

[The Badger]

Wow ..... no shortage of wedge there then .

Any idea as to why they want a Coupe for ILMC and Le Mans , and open toppers for the ALMS ?

[Dead-Eye]

Better weather in the US?

Are the US cars new as well, or is it a case of buying something that was available?

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Dead-Eye

Better weather in the US?

Are the US cars new as well, or is it a case of buying something that was available?

The open top cars are new builds.

[dj4monie]

Originally Posted by Thumper

I see from the advert in today's Autosport that Mike Newton is selling off four of his MG prototypes. That includes both the ex-works EX257s from Le Mans 2001/2002, the EX264 that won LMP2 at Le Mans in 2005 (with Mike, Tommy and Warren Hughes) and last year's HPD coupé, which started life as the EX265c.

I had heard rumours that the latter was already sold, so was intrigued to see a Lola HPD listed on the Le Mans entry list yesterday for Level 5. Not the same car then? However, the sale blurb suggests that the RML coupé could be reverted back to MG specification, if a collector fancied the full set.

The only one missing is the EX265 that went to RLR, and that will be back on track again for this year's LMS - still in the red, white and blue RML-inspired scheme, I believe.

Can we expect Chinese interest here?

Is that the key to everything these days? First it was the Arabs, before it was the Japanese, now its the Chinese. Maybe that's telling us something we're not listening too at least our elected officials aren't.

[Thumper]

I was thinking more along the lines of MG now being owned by the Chinese, and someone at Shanghai Automotive might be interested in acquiring a bit of history. However, now that you come to mention it . . .