'Pre-Production' and 'Launch' Cars

[Abes125S]

Hi
Thanks for reply. Only have exterior photos at the moment but will take some of interior next time I'm out there (mid June)
What I can tell you is that it has beige leather seats with pockets in rear of front seats, rear blind, Hi-Line Sat Nav, Radio/Cassette but no CD multi player.
Regards - Alan
image.jpg

Originally Posted by Gate Keeper

Good morning Alan and welcome to the Owners Club

Do post up the photos of your car, inside and out, as it will help clear up the query about it being a Cowley. I know of 2 sources to the information you asked about, one the sources being Reebs, our lead moderator.

The vin numbers and registration numbers can be misused on the internet by criminals, so please do be careful in posting them up. People might think I am making a fuss. That is okay, but it is a different story when a car number has been cloned for illegal purpose.

Bear in mind the data bases are not complete and this means that not every car which MG Rover ever built has been recorded. The vin decoder I used, showed that my car was built on 02 October 1998

[Abes125S]

Originally Posted by scoubix

Hi Alan

The build records some of us have access to do not give the car history or initial registration, it only shows on what date/time the car left the assembly line, its country of destination, and build specs.

Yours appears as follows in the build records :
Off assembly 1998-12-09 12:33:50
Country Great Britain

So as it appears to have been built for GB and not Spain, it's most likely a car that was initially registered to Rover Group in the UK and then made its way into Spain most likely through some Rover employee who bought it back to use it while in Spain for whatever personal reason.

Thanks for that information, nice to know when she was built. But as Spike mentions - it's LHD so must have been produced for Europe!
Interestingly it had only 30k kms in service book for its 1st 'Spanish' service in 2003 so hadn't done a great deal in its first 5 years of life! (It's still only done about 115k kms now!)
Did the LHD cars shown at the motor shows have UK plates on or were they blank?
Is there any way DVLA could tell me, by just quoting the VIN, if this was ever registered in the UK?
Alan

[Speedblock]

Hi Alan!

Congratulations to this interesting 75. Looks stunning on the photo.
Also looking forward to hear and see more about your car.

At your enclosed photo I can see that your car has front power washes.
Does it also have a rain-sensor? My "1149" does not. But your 75 probebly have the Pre Production black doorlock / hazard surround.

Regards from Christian

[scoubix]

Originally Posted by Abes125S

Thanks for that information, nice to know when she was built. But as Spike mentions - it's LHD so must have been produced for Europe!

Alan

Not quite. A number of pre-production cars were LHD and some were specifically built with the UK as country of destination. Such is yours. They were not meant to be registered to any 3rd party initially, some were built for press road tests for instance...

[Speedblock]

Scoubix - I agree - my LHD 1149 has indeed a UK spec. and it kept the original reg.number the whole time in Spain and back in UK again. It was exported to Sweden in 2007. // Speedblock

[pajeroking]

Hello,


After 3 years of browsing this (and the other) forum i just found this thread.

And guess what? Everybody says that i own a pre-production model.

That being said, let me introduce you the car.


My name is Andi, i live in Romania(Eastern Europe) and i bought my 75 from Romania. But, the last owner told me that the car was brought from England, bought from an indian business man and was a pre-production model.


SARRJZLLZXM001369



VIN decoder RJ
Vehicle type Rover 75 and MG ZT
Z Trim level Connoisseur
L Body 4-Door Saloon
L Engine Petrol 2500 (177 PS)
Z Transmission Petrol Auto LHD (3.890)
X Model year 1999 Model Year
M Plant Cowley

Build record 1252
Off assembly 1999-01-04 09:26:06
Build record VIN SARRJZLLZXM001369
Model description
Exterior colour Wedgewood Blue Pearlescent
Interior trim Ash / Light Smokestone
Country Great Britain
Engine 2500 NA 177bhp
Transmission Automatic / LHD


SAR Manufacturer MG Rover Group
RJ Vehicle type Rover 75 and MG ZT
Z Trim level Connoisseur
L Body 4-Door Saloon
L Engine Petrol 2500 (177 PS)
Z Transmission Petrol Auto LHD (3.890)
X Model year 1999 Model Year
M Plant Cowley
001369 Serial number Valid
Facelift model No
Build date 31 December 1998

Mine is a 2.5 V6 Auto, light blue (details below) with all options but wooden steering and power folding mirror. But, as you can see in the pictures i will attach, there were times when the car had different rims, and did not have chromed mirrors, so i suppose that you cannot take the factory options as a rule because they might have been changed over time.


I am attaching several pictures , the first two are taken before the car has left England, and the rest in Romania



https://imgur.com/a/8IBEx1V


Now, my only question is: what color code do i have? it's wedgewoo blue 1 or 2 ? Romanians gurus say that mine is a brighter blue than the regular blue 75, therefore they can tell it's a pre-production special colour. It's hard for me to differentiate the nuances between mine and a regular blue 75, it depends on light exposure etc. What do you guys think, based on the pics?

[Tam]

Recognise those blokes in pictures. Lewis in suit and looks like Andrew with him.

[suzublu]

Originally Posted by Tam

Recognise those blokes in pictures. Lewis in suit and looks like Andrew with him.

Deffo Lewis in the back seat and the codes for Wedgwood are JEL Cowley, JBH Longbridge
Check the plate on the lower "B" pillar

[pajeroking]

Ok, so:


- Paint Code: JEL;
- Trim code: JBB.


So it's accurate, because my VIN says that the car was assembled in Cowley. Now if the paint is original or not, that's another story.


Were the pre production cars using a special color, or was the JEL let's say the same for both pre-production and regular cars? I guess so, and all the stories that mine because it's pre-production has a special colour are just... .


Thanks and have a great day ahead!

[trikey]

The pre production Wedgwood blue was the same as the regular blue used at the cowley plant.