One last hurrah: the 1994 MG RV8

It's tough to imagine the British car scene in North America without the MGB, which remains a popular starter classic and is available in every price range imaginable--and some price ranges that aren't. The iconic MGB was in production from 1962 until 1980, an entire era that saw relatively few changes introduced to the well-proven design.

The marque itself was overseen by three corporate parents during those 18 years on the line: BMC, British Motor Holdings and, finally, British Leyland. The basic roadster design spawned the MGC as well as the MGB GT coupes, the latter even being available in Buick V8 flavor from 1973 onward. But by 1980, the MGB exited production, unable to keep up with the competition from Japan even though the basic engineering was easy to work on and very well sorted. So that was it for the MGB, right?

Not quite. The idea of a small British roadster lived on, at least in the country that originated it.

The MGB made a brief comeback in 1993 in the guise of the MG RV8, a 3.9-liter V8-engined roadster that combined MGB architecture with Rover's corporate V8. And recently we got a chance to go for a spin in one. But first, a little bit more history.

By the late 1980s, MG was under the wing of a new corporate parent, the Rover Group: a descendant of British Leyland that wasn't just treading water all the time, for a change. Composed of the best parts of old BMC and BL, even joining forces with Honda on multiple sedans, the Rover Group occupied almost every segment in which it could sell a car. Every segment but one: the small roadster.

It was the sudden and overwhelming success of the Mazda Miata that awakened Rover to the realization that affordable roadsters were still a thing, and that, at one time, one of their brands was actually quite good at making affordable roadsters. Even though the MG brand itself was known more for boxy hatches and slightly dull impressions of Hondas by that time, it was still associated with the fun and sweet-handling B roadster that filled the roads when the weather was nice.

To revive and redesign the existing MGB, a team of MG veterans was literally brought out of retirement for one last project -- everyone from the engineers to the assembly-line workers. If this sounds like the makings of Hollywood script, with a team of grizzled action heroes returning for one last run, consider that Rover allotted a budget of only

By Jay Ramey