Another month, another saloon as Marty’s ZS takes the car of the Month prize for March.

ZSCentral has a hugely proud saloon owning membership, and Marty’s car is another final example of the breed.



Marty is a recovering Ford addict, having owned a string RS Turbos, 4x4 Sierras and the odd Fiesta for good measure. Marty was turned on to the MG marque when a friend bought a ZR 160. Initially Marty was tempted to join his mate with a ZR, but found the pocket-rocket a tad too small for his needs.

As with all of us, the aggressive looks of the 180 saloon combined with the V6 power had him hooked, and in 2007 Marty found his car.

Rob Oldaker’s work on the car hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“I think its fairly hard to find a V6 in a saloon chassis that handles as well as this one out of the box, MG got it very right. I love it because of its a bit of a 'sleeper' no one expects it to perform as well as it does.”

Thankfully for Marty economy wasn’t an issue so he’s able to enjoy his 180 without worrying about trips to the pumps. “Economy was never a concern it was all about the performance per pound, which I don’t think can be matched by any of the zeds competitors”

Marty has kept the ZS subtle, with Rover 45 headlamps, black grille mesh and a Renault Laguna front splitter. Some super-sticky Yoko’s keep it stuck to the road, regardless of how hard it’s pushed. The car runs a wing mounted open cone ITG air filter, with the bonnet raised slightly to aid cooling. Marty has custom made a carbon fibre engine cover and has plans to add more carbon fibre in coming months. More mods are set for the future, as Marty says “I havent really got going with it yet, there’s plenty more to do!”