RV8 Talk - the concept, development and production of a modern classic sports car
A group of V8 enthusiasts listened to John Yea and David Bishop relate what had inspired the RV8 development team to do what was an extraordinary low budget project - creating a modern classic sportscar to keep the name of MG alive as a modern brand. It was fascinating tale.

Peter Buckles chaired the event and commented "projects like that just don't happen like that any more". The availability of MGB bodies from the BMH Body Plant and fuel injected V8 engines clearly were the essential inputs but it needed enthusiasm and imagination to make it happen. Many of our V8 enthusiasts contributed to the project including Roger Parker, the late Trevor Taylor, Ron Gammons and of course Peter Buckles and his team at the leading specialist parts supplier, Moss Europe.

John Yea said "I don't think a retro type car built in an old body will be seen again - manufacturers don't keep old tooling any more - it's just binned, gone for ever!" He related how tracing the tooling for the RV8 project was a key part of their work. Timing too was a factor for vehicle conformity - another six months or so and the RV8 might not have met the increased "drive by" noise limits - it was that close!

Peter Buckles arranged and chaired the session in his usual forthright and cheerful style! (Photo: Gavin Bailey)

The recording is in two parts - the RV8 Talk on how the project was conceived, developed and finally went into production (Part 1 on the CD) with many amusing anecdotes and asides, followed by an interesting Q&A session (Part 2 on the CD). The questions from the enthusiasts present ranged from "did you consider using an independent rear suspension system?" to "what is the future spares situation likely to be?". So far as RV8 spares are concerned it is never going to be easy with a such a low volume car, but the good news is John Yea has a personal interest in RV8 spares - he has two RV8s!

You can obtain your own recording of
the RV8 Talk on CD which you can play on your desktop computer or laptop using the Windows Media Player. Note, unless your PC is relatively powerful and has a recent specification, the playback can be jumpy as less powerful PCs may struggle to process the large file in mpeg format.

DVD version of the RV8 Talk
is no longer available

Please note - not suitable for US DVD equipment. The RV8 Talk DVD is suitable for DVD players using the UK regional format. The DVDs we have supplied seem to work satisfactorily in Australia but we have found they do not work in the USA. Gavin Bailey has concluded that he is unable to make changes to his DVD burning equipment without running a risk of causing damage to his equipment so is unable to produce DVDs for the US market or other areas using DVDs operating on a US regional format.

John Yea (left) and David Bishop (right) related the story of how the RV8 came to be made - another six months or so and the RV8 might not have met the increased "drive by" noise limits - it was really that close! John Yea mentioned there was an idea later to revive production, but by that time the tougher drive by noise limits had come in and the RV8 would have need considerable additional expenditure to meet those new limits.


Gordon Reid. (Photo: Victor Smith)


Brian Moyse the new editor of the RV8 Workshop Notes series. (Photo: Gavin Bailey)