VA09307 MG ZT+, Monogram Caledonian

The manual MG ZT modelled came off the assembly line at Longbridge at 08.13 on January 6th, 2005, only three months before the historic car plant, which was originally the home of Austin, closed when MG Rover collapsed. Monogram was MG Rover’s personalization programme, so few, if any, of the Monogram cars were identical. They went down a parallel production line and were hand sprayed in the customer’s chosen colour, which partly explains why this Scottish heather-inspired hue added £1,000 to the car’s price. Research carried out by enthusiasts has shown that only 16 Monogram Caledonian cars were made, and that this example is the second of only two ZT saloons. It was ordered by a dealer to be a showroom attraction and as well as the + options pack, which included climate control, electric rear windows and a 6-CD multichanger, the dealer specified most of the extra available options to be fitted on the car including black leather seats, a sunroof and Harman Kardon audio equipment. The current owner, West Midlands-based ZT enthusiast Dan Hooper, is a founding member of the MG Rover Events group and has owned many MG Z cars. He purchased this example in November 2022 when it had covered 168,000 miles and used it daily for almost two years covering a further 16,000 miles. He then took it off the road to do the restoration work it is currently undergoing.