Rover MG ZS180

175 brake. 7.3 seconds, 0-60. 2.5 litre V6.

It isn't so much the stats of this car that are interesting. Stats aren't that big a deal. The real interest in a car like this is that a company ekeing out it's last few corporate breaths, passed off from one owner to another, unloved, still had employees who managed - without huge investment - to build a car that drove fantastically well and belied it's simple roots.

A concise package of a car offered brilliant handling and a very dynamic ride. We should be proud of the engineering history of this country. Something forged over hundreds of years. We used to lead the way: the Steam Age, Shipbuilding, Railways, Canals, the first real Tank (setting in motion heavy mechanised warfare). Our industry and technologically pioneering spirit brought the world many things. Off the top of my head only the skyscraper passed us by.

And then in the 50's and 60's we evolved into a nation of specialists. Producing one-off masterpieces like Concorde. I'd never say that many Rovers make my favourite lists, and I'm not the greatest fan. However the company's passing does signify, to me, an end to an era when we did 'make' things.