MG Car Club
The Six Appeal
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By Andy Knott
When the MG6 was launched to the gathered motoring press in 2011, anticipation was high as this was the first all-new MG to be launched in the UK by the Chinese manufacturer SAIC.
The MG was generally well received, although at the time a few motoring titles knocked the lack of a diesel engine, and the fact that it was only available with a manual gearbox.
Towards the end of 2012, MG addressed the issue of a diesel engine by fitting a torquey 1.9 DTi Tech engine which was mounted to a manual six-speed gearbox.
As MG started to move into the SUV segment, first with the MG GS and latterly with the MG ZS, both with an automatic gearbox option, the MG6 was discontinued in 2016, much to the frustration of a loyal band of followers. One of those was long-time MG enthusiast, Paul Pickering, whose first foray into the MG scene was with an RV8. Since then he’s been smitten and owned numerous MGs, mainly purchased from John Newey at Summit Garage in Dudley. Paul prefers automatic cars and did own an automatic MG GS that he purchased from Summit Garage, but the SUV just wasn’t for him. From the moment the MG6 launched Paul loved the shape, styling and size of the car, and so Paul, who’s no stranger to modified MGs, having owned a K Series MGB, commissioned John Newey to create him his own MG6 Automatic. John, himself a lifelong enthusiast, knew just the man to talk to about creating such a car, Chris Flanagan from Retro Sports Cars. Chris has created several bespoke MGs over the years, and has recently taken on supplying spares for one of the rarest MGs, the MG supercar, the SV.
Building the Six
Chris wasn’t fazed when tasked with building an MG6 automatic, but first needed to source the donor cars for the project. With John Newey’s help, a stunning top-of-the-range MG6 Mk1 TSE with only 6,000 miles on the clock, and an automatic 1.8 turbo Rover 75 were both soon residing at the Retro Sports Cars premises. Both engines were removed from the cars, and the N series turbo unit found in the MG6 was checked over before being mated to the freshly refurbished auto gear box from the Rover 75. This all went very smoothly and the engine and gearbox were soon fitted in the resplendent red engine bay of the MG6. Now the fun began! Chris Flanagan and his colleagues at Retro Sports Cars had to don their thinking caps when it came to the electrical side of the installation. This proved to be the trickiest part of the build, due to the MG6 using different ECUs to the Rover 75, so trying to get the engine to communicate with the gearbox was a challenge.
In China the MGs aren’t road tested, they’re all tested on simulators which doesn’t pick up the real stress put on components such as the manual gearbox. The MG6 gearbox is a known weak point for those wanting to tune and up the turbo boost of their Six. To keep the boost at a level that doesn’t cause the box to self-detonate, the Bosch Engine Management System fitted has lots of torque limiters.
Converting the MG6 to the proven JATCO Rover 75 automatic box meant that the torque limiters weren’t necessary, so Chris and his team decided to retro fit the proven MEMS 3 management system. The Modular Engine Management System, or MEMS, is an electronic control system used on engines in cars built by the MG Rover Group. MEMS 3 were fitted on their post-2000 K series engine cars, including the 1.8 turbo used in the MG ZT and Rover 75.
With the electronically controlled gearbox now talking to the engine, and the fact that the gearbox could handle more power, Retro Sportscars took the opportunity to up the boost on the turbo and remap the MEMS 3 ECU with one of their Kmaps packages which would not only improve performance, but would also improve fuel economy and add a crisper throttle response to enhance the driving experience. With these improvements the 1.8 turbo is good for 200bhp, as well as adding a nice increase in torque which was noticeable on the test drive.
With the mechanical side of the build all working in harmony, attention turned to the interior. It was the electrical side which again took the time, trying to get the internal MG6 electrics to talk to the auto gearbox. The MG6 Controller Area Network Bus (CAN), which is a specialised internal communications network that interconnects components inside a vehicle, had to be gatewayed together with the Rover 75 CAN. Retro Sports Cars wrote a programme to allow them to do this, and even reconfigured the clocks to display the correct auto symbols such as D for Drive, and S for Sports mode. The dials and displays all look as if they were factory-fitted inside the car, as does the auto gearstick, located in the standard MG6 manual gearstick surroundings. The finish and fit of the whole job is wonderful, but looks can be deceiving; would it drive as well as it looked?
The Driving Experience
The MG6 was gleaming in the sunshine as we pulled up at Summit Garage and were met by John Newey, who was keen to show us the conversion. Jumping in the MG6 I was instantly at home – my dad has owned his 1.8t petrol MG6 for three years and I’ve been lucky enough to drive it on numerous occasions. The TSE is a comfortable place to be, and looking around it was clear to see that Chris and the guys at Retro Sports Cars had done an excellent, seamless, automatic conversion to this already tidy MG. Foot on the brake, key in the ignition and the 6 burbled into life, an aftermarket backbox added to the engine soundtrack, and with the Park P displayed on the dash I slipped the gearstick down into Drive before gingerly heading out on the road.
The auto was a joy to drive. As we drove through the built-up 30mph area the 5-speed auto was changing confidently below 3000rpm. Heading out to a road with a national speed limit gave us a chance to really put the MG6 through its paces. With the road clear ahead the sports button next to the gearstick was flicked on, the MG changed down and with the right foot planted the turbo pulled the needle towards the redline. I found the turbo pick up very smooth, something that’s noticeably different to the manual cars where the boost is very ‘on and off’ when accelerating hard. As the revs rose, the auto changed up a gear with a reassuring feel, and started pulling hard again with no notable turbo lag, something the manual car suffers with due to the torque limiters. Heading back towards Summit Garage, sports mode was switched off and the MG6 became a subdued cruising car again. As we pulled back onto the forecourt and slid the gearstick back into Park, I began to wonder what the MG6 could have been had they introduced an Automatic one to UK shores.
John Newey summed it up by saying: “There’s been a lot of interest in the Auto MG6 at Summit Garage. When the 6 was launched a lot of people said if MG Motor had released an auto one they would have bought one”. With the prices of petrol MG6s very reasonable now it makes it quite a viable conversion, and you’ll be pleased to hear that Retro Sports Cars are able to offer the conversion to your MG6 for £4,000-£4,500.
As of April 2020, the car in this feature is currently for sale with Summit Garage – whose details can be found below.
Retro Sports Cars is run by husband and wife Chris and Dawn Flanagan. Chris is the technician with over 20 years’ experience in all aspects of vehicle repair, especially mechanical and electrical.
He began his career as an apprentice in an MG Rover Main Dealer in December 1992, just as the MG RV8 was launched. This beautiful car started his love of MGs, and he bought his first MG at 18 – a 1972 MGB GT, in Old English White. He attended all the training courses at Longbridge, Cowley and Studley Castle, and by the time of the MGF launch in 1995 he was hooked.
Chris likes a challenge and in 2004 he decided to put a KV6 into his 1997 Nightfire Red MGF. Since then he has also undertaken many engine conversions, including K Series Midget, a KV6 MGZR, a 2 litre Turbo MGZR, and – several more KV6 MGFs!
Retro Sports Cars Ltd,
Unit 1 Clifton Mills Sheds,
Clifton Mills,
Bailiff Bridge,
West Yorkshire,
HD6 4JJ
Tel: 01484 715851
www.mglifestyleuk.co.uk
A family-run business established in 1945, founded by Robert “Jack” Newey and his wife Olive, before passing the business to their son, John Robert Newey. Summit Garage has been caring for their customers’ cars for eight decades and aim to provide a friendly, caring service for all your motoring needs.
Now in the hands of the third generation, brothers John and Nick Newey carry on the family tradition. Summit Garage has a wide range of both new and used MG cars to suit your budget and is an authorised MG service and repairs centre too, so can look after your MG, new or cherished.
Summit Garage (Dudley) Limited,
413-415 Himley Road,
Lower Gornal,
Dudley,
West Midlands,
DY3 2RA.
Tel: 01384 465 769
www.summitgarage.co.uk
