MG Sports and Racing Europe

MG Sports and Racing Europe

Industry	Automotive
Founded	29 January 2007
Founder	William Riley
Defunct	12 February 2010
Headquarters	Eardiston, near Tenbury Wells, England
Key people	William Riley
Products	Automobile
Website	http://www.mg-x-power.com/

MG Sports and Racing Europe Limited was a British automotive company based in Eardiston, Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire. The company was founded by William Riley, who acquired assets of the MG Sport and Racing subsidiary of MG Rover Group after its demise, with the intention of restarting production of the MG XPower SV sportscar,^[1] renamed MG XPower WR. The company was registered on 29 January 2007.^{[2][better source needed]}

In December 2009, it was reported in the press^[3] that no new cars had been manufactured by MG Sports and Racing Europe since its founding, and that employment tribunal proceedings had been initiated by two employees for non-payment of wages. Riley was also arrested by police in 2009 on suspicion of theft of an XPower WR car previously sold to a Canadian businessman who had been working on behalf of the company.

Riley's use of the "MG" trademark resulted in a legal dispute with Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation, which had also acquired assets of the defunct MG Rover Group.^[4] This case was won by Nanjing in February 2010.^[5] Consequently, the company name was changed to Sports and Racing Europe Ltd. in March 2010.

Models

The company announced a revised version of the MG XPower SV, renamed the XPower WR, in April 2008. Later the same year a convertible variant with a Kevlar bodyshell, the MG XPower SV-S WRC, was announced.^[6]

An MG XPower SV

Neither model ever reached production.

External links

• MG Sports and Racing Europe official website

References

1. "MG is back on the road". Birmingham Mail. Midland Newspapers Limited. 8 April 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
2. "MG Sports & Racing Europe Ltd & TVR MG XPOWER (All merged threads) - MG-Rover.org Forums". Forums.mg-rover.org. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
3. Chadwick, Edward (31 December 2009). "X Power dream turns sour for MG Sports and Will Riley". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
4. Murphy, Megan (5 July 2008). "Battle over MG badge shifts up a gear". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
5. "Car maker wins MG trademark battle". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
6. "MG X-Power SV-S WRC Is The Drop Top British Supercar". jalopnik.com. 6 October 2008.