My dad owned a few over the years. He absolutely loved them. Only thing quicker than the 0-60 was how quickly they rusted.

Everyone is mad for Fast Fords (Guilty) But I think these Maestro’s are so underrated and you must have one of the nicest examples in the country.

Homie dressed like he just stole the hatch to scoop up Sick boy, Spud, and Begbie out of trainspotting. these are some hard 80s & 90s vibes here. Choose life boys!

The car is fucking gorgeous. I honestly had forgotten about these, till I saw the video. Makes we want one so bad!!!

I had an MG Montego Turbo. The torque steering was brutal.

Fantastic job on the is hot hatch classic. The work that you’ve put into it really shine’s through.

These were incredibly rare in the 90's, can't be many left at all

Wow, I had one in the 90's - British Racing Green - The best colour in my opinion. But what a great video and fantastic to see a true classic back on the road - well done, and thanks for sharing.

Had a white MG metro turbo, LOVED IT TO PIECES. Had 2 x 12 inch rockford subs in the boot and 6 x 9's in the shelf and a portable DCC player up front for DIGITAL SOUND *tm*. Banging.

I had a 2.0i EFI one in moonraker blue. I found it was a bit of a handful, I went round a corner on a backroad, straight into a hedge. The car took off and landed on the roof. Was a strong car, though. I got out unhurt. I replaced it with a montego 2.0i, and although near enough same as a maestro, the montego seemed a lot more planted.

Awesome Sheesh that's some job, but hats off to you. I had a B reg 1985 non turbo and non efi 1600 one as my second car (after a Dolly Sprint - dad was a real petrol head) So I had 2 twin choke Webber's (that's 4 carbs). Hours of fun with my dad and timing light gun getting those set up.... Mayonnaise cleaned up, it was sold after a couple of years. Fantastic visibility all round in these - I miss that in today's cars. PS, mine was in black as well!

In 96 my sister's bf had one with the digital speedo I was only 9 and loved sitting behind the driver as a kid watching the speedo it was quick as fk he still has it along with a metro turbo I prefer my Renault 5 gt turbo 80's and 90s cars are where my heart lies. Cars to me were just better none of this computerised everything. Great video well worth the sub

I remember seeing a Ford Sierra XR4i, about 1982/83 I think it was. Looked in a different world to other cars of the time, especially with the Whale tail…

As a dedicated Essex Boy Racer through the 90s I religiously read Max Power and Fast Car. I especially loved when the guys would set up timing gear and also do group tests. Out of all the massively tuned Red Top Novas, Turbo,d Novas, 205 gti turbo'd, Escort and Fiesta RS Turbos, Golf gti supercharged and turbo charged, Renault 5 GT turbo, Astra GTEs tuned Red Top, supercharged, turbocharged LET engines, Cavalier and Calibra Turbo etc. And, of course the much rarer Montego and especially Maestro Turbos. Out of ALL those timing gear tests throughout the decade THE fastest accelerating cars were the Maestro Turbos! They beat EVERYTHING being the only cars to hit 60mph in under 6 seconds! Even on paper the quoted figures were very impressive but they were clearly very rapid motors! My mate had a Montego and I did have a drive but really struggled with it due to those crazy light pedals. I could barely drive the car and soon returned it to him but I'm sure I'd have gotten used to it in the end. I was a Vauxhall guy through n through back then ending up with a lovely red launch Astra GTE 16 valve Coscast Red Top and loved it to bits.

Seeing the old cars repainted with modern paint really does make them look even better than they ever did brand new. Lovey whip man!

Well done preserving this classic 👍 Always thought these were handsome looking hot hatches 😎🇬🇧

I'm not a car person, but stumbled upon this video. My parents bought me a formula 3 track day at thruxton many years ago (!) and the best part of the day was being driven round the track in one of these maestros by a presumably pro driver - absolutely terrifying for a 21 year old novice like me! the speed he went into the corners lives with me til this day. appreciate your skills & effort with a great car. cheers.

The Montego Turbo was insane too

Thanks. Brought back some fond memories of the ones I owned in the 90's. Lost count of the hours I spent in that engine bay, wheel bearings they used to eat through and discs n' pads. Mine were dropped 2" with a kit from MotoBuild, not a massively exotic kit but made a big difference taking the torque steer. Anyways again, thanks.

i had an mg metro turbo E reg all colour coded in white really tidy example back in the day, loved it wish i still had it tbh

Lovely rare car and great restoration. My Uncle had a Montego Turbo back In the late 80s and let me, a car mad 19 year old, have a drive. It was super fast, especially compared to my Fiesta 1.1 Popular Plus.

That whoosh at 3000rpm sure brings back memories of my 1990 Montego Turbo. It whooshed quite a lot during my ownership😎 This rebuild looks really special, long may it bring you joy. Mine certainly did, apart from the constant battle against the rust...

I saw this car at a show over the weekend.... very nice indeed

Fair play for sticking with it, that's a monumental amount of work & the finished product looks amazing. Top job.

I bought one of these for £50 (an MOT failure with a split axle) shortly after passing my driving test at 18 in the late 90’s. Drove it untaxed and uninsured for about three weeks before my Dad saw me driving it out and about one too many times and arranged for it to be towed away and scrapped. That thing was incredibly quick though…..fun times!! 😂

Great video, your a natural. Presenter!!! Fair play to you👍

My dad had one of these when I was a kid in the 90s. What a car👍

Just watched this and wow....what a fantastic job. Absolutely loved it. I did the same thing to my Alfa 33 years ago and i know that doing it right the first time is the way. You really have a passion for this car and the restoration quality and effort really shows. Beautiful car.....

Superb job on resto so far Chris it's a credit to you

That's absolutely mint, love it. look forward to seeing a dyno run.

An old friend of mine had an austin maestro vanden plas back in the late 80s, when we attended college together in Edinburgh. Such a good car. So quiet and so quick too. Would love to see that car again and have a wee shot myself this time as I was not a driver back then. Your car is a thing of beauty. Nice one. X

Lovely car , the turbo era , I was there with my Starion which was known as the fastest 2.0 on the road at the time , also had metro turbo and a montego happy times

Love it, I had a 2.0 efi MG Maestro, but also MG Montego Turbo, wish I still had one.

MG Maestro Turbo; one piece of Austin Rovers work that showed that you couldn’t polish a turd but you could roll it in glitter. Mum had one back in the day , dad got a good deal on it new, she hated it, i hated it too. The interior was crap and It handled like a bath tub and was only decent in a straight line (like the dual carriageway past Pitreavie). Constantly had electrical issues with the thing, starting and turbo issues after only a couple years ownership. Finally someone did her a favour by stealing it. Props to you for restoring one because they will be rare nowadays but they are rare for a reason, bad reasons unfortunately.

I miss these days. Great job 👏

Well done on the restore. Looks very well done. Hope your enjoying this classic.

dont be so hard on yourself ! Respect to you mate , you have done a cracking job. Its nice to still see these on the road . respect. I love them , and id love to have one in that condition.

Nice job, can't be many that are in such a great condition these days! Styling has stood the test of time IMHO 👍

You don't have to red line them, that engine's got so much torque I bet you could take off in 3rd. 😂 Absolutely fabulous rare project. Be very proud, I'd take it off your hands in a jiffy..

A friend of mine had 620i and I drove that car... Bit of a monster. It had about 200bhp standard but he'd mapped it a bit and it was making over 220BHP. The torque steer was borderline dangerous but it was a fast car.

looks mint !!!!

Nice review of a cracking car. Great to see one preserved like that. Nice bit of nostalgia for older farts like me!

I know it gets a lot of criticism, but I thought this was a great car. This is a fantastic example.

Very nice, my dad had a white one and boy did it shift. Nice to see one still on the road.

Lovely job. (Prefer the BRG myself, though)👍

Wheels bearings ...struts and shockers.....and welded together like a sieve. Water leaks......but apart from....pretty nice drive for the day....

Nice car, I had an MG Maestro, not the turbo but it was a great car, well done yours looks spot on.

I saw one of these the other day in Edinburgh. Guy driving it look pleased as punch. Looked mint too.

One of the most easy car to steal back in the day as well as Astras.

That was fun. A mate had one of these - it was like a spaceship compared to what we were all driving. Felt crazy fast. It went through a hedge backwards (I was told) and got totalled. He walked away with just shock. We all missed it.

Outstanding work Chris. Im 48 and I've never seen one in the flesh. We didn't get these in Ireland. It was all fiat and opel here in recession times. Beautiful car tastefully done. The colour is fantastic. A real gem unique hot hatch Thanks for showing her.

They were Rare even back in the day. I can’t believe there’s still one of these driving! In beauty nick n all!

Brings back memories. The grey was always my favourite

I absolutely loved my black MG Maestro 2.0 B610 JDP. Beast of a car.

A mate of mine back in the day had one of these. It spent more time in the works car park than on the road. Always something wrong with it. It rusted faster than nails in seawater.

Its not a bad looking car now, its improved with age

great video. my father had a few rovers an sd1 v8 SE and he had 2 rover montego gti's. a friend of mine had an MG montego turbo but only briefly as it was a bit of a shed and wasn't looked after by the previous owner. I had 6 ford capri's including a 2.8i special in 2 tone blue. love all these old motors. ah the good old days....😊

I served my time as a mechanic on these and I loved them. The 2.0 were great cars even the non turbo cars were quick. If they had sorted the torque steer it would have been one of the best hot hatches.

My stepdads best friend owned moto-build 😢 they had some awesome turbos. the good old days 😊

This randomly popped up in my recommendations and I'm glad it did. You've done a cracking job on this restoration. I always liked these and they were rare back in the day. Always wanted a ride in one even as a passenger. I wouldn't worry it's taken as long as it has, life always gets in the way of important car stuff 😊

I like the maestro turbo. Really nice old -school hot hatch. Love the black with red highlights and that awesome interior. Fastest of the 90s though? Uh uh. That position goes to the Nissan Pulsar GTIR.

Story- GMP had at least one of these. It followed my xr2 for ages. I accelerated away easily but suddenly a sierra cosworth pulled alongside. I stopped immediately. MG pulled up behind. I said no way is that yours. Officer got out, laughed and both cops said take lead out foot. The 90s. Lucky GMP didn't beat me up or make charges up - traffic seemed not to be corrupt. Nice vid!

Nice car forgotten baby

Always wanted one of these or the Montego but ended up with the MG Metro Turbo - quick but biy was it fragile. Engine mounts, gearbox destroyed, head gasket blown etc. Great job by the way.

I've had a lot of fast Rovers over the years. Metro GTi's, Metro's with MGF VVC engines, 420 Turbos, but always wanted one of these. One popped up as a light restoration project at a dealer a few miles from where I lived. Knew the guy was more than a tad dodgy but went to see it anyway. Was on a Sunday and alarm bells rang when I was standing in his office and his phone rang with another "customer" interested in the Maestro. Went out and checked the car out and it seemed ok, but something was off. Noticed it had an EFi wiring loom, whereas the Turbo was carb. The kit was poorly fitting and the decals didn't look right. The BRG paint didn't look the right shade either. Turns out it was a replica he was trying to pass off as a genuine Turbo. Made my excuses and left but made sure everyone on forums etc knew about it incase anyone was duped by it. Ended up buying a Montego instead

Great car.Never got to own a turbo version but had a 1600 MG Maestro and two 2 litre efi MG Maestro great car s

Very nice job. That took me back to my MG Montego. A far better car than the then motoring press would like to admit.😁👍

Had a turbo back in the day plus about half a dozen 2.0 Efi's. Also had a couple of the Montego 2.0 Efi's. Just found a pair of the original unused mudflaps 🤣

I’m really really pleased for you. I think it looks great & before you even said anything I thought she sounded great. It wouldn’t be my thing. Of that era it’d be an m-tech 325i e30 all day. But I like your car & I love how proud of it you are! It’s also super rare & worth very strong money. Well done 👏

Wouldn’t have had one as a gift 30 years ago I’d fricking love one now👏👏😂

A great example well done. If I remember correctly from working on these back in the day we had a few warranty claims on the gearboxes due to an abundance of torque and enthusiastic driving. I think this was solved by turning down the boost a little. Never owned one , drove lots a fun car .

Absolute machines!!! My pal even took the engine from one of these and slapped it in a MK2 GOLF GTI that thing was crazy as hell

Love the MAESTRO (: Lovely car its a real credit to you Thank you for keeping her alive. I worked art an Austin Rover Dealer from 1982 to 1991 , never seen a Turbo in the flesh but many 1.6 R and S Series and O series EFI s (:

Always thought I’d get a maestro. Had an mg metro which was a great drive. Prejudiced enough to despise the montego until I got one. Actually loved it!

When I was 20 I bought an E-reg 2.0 EFI and loved it. I ran it for about ten years. I nearly cried when I drove it into a scrap yard as it had too many mot faults to economically fix. It was metallic silver and great to drive. Not as good as my miata though but then that’s a two seater 😂

Still looks ace. I wanted one of these so much in the early 90s. Somehow always looked better to me than a Ford - pity I couldn’t afford one at the time.

There's a man who works at my local Tesco has one in White and its very quick for what it is my 1.4 Fiat 500 has trouble keeping up lol you could imagine how much quicker these would go on 4 star leaded petrol back in the old days.

Nearly had an MG Metro Turbo as a second car back in the early 00s, but went for an SPI Metro GTI instead. Lovely little cars back in the day

My mum went out and brought one around 1995 , as a 7 year old passenger i remember it well, very raw feel, noisy and proper turbo lag! Plus i never recalled seeing another one!! Problem was it was a magnet for thieves stolen and recovered, wheels nicked twice, third time it was found burnt out. Great car though.

A lovely specimen of that era , not seen hardly at all these days, as for the rusty bolts heads under the bonnet I personally think it makes it look authentic rather than a museum piece. Great car

Got to say well done mate, very professional, great car, loved them in the 1980s your polite no bad language, can watch with my kids etc, very professional

Nice looking car, good to see such cars saved. Back in the 1990's when I was selling such cars, a mate and I went in a Maestro Turbo to collect a Porsche 944 we had just bought. On the way back we were pushing it on a bit, I was in front in the 944 my mate following in the Maestro Turbo. The 944 cornered with no fuss at speed, but I will never forget the look of fear in my rear view mirror on my mates face as he battled to keep up on the twisty stuff in the Maestro. The Maestro was quick in a line but scary on the twisty bits !

Enjoyed the review, and lovely job on the (almost) finished project! 😁 I always respected the performance, just never actually wanted one of these. Great to see one on the road, though...I would be over to chat if I saw you!

Well done I had the blue Efi version always wanted the turbo but sold it and went for a 205 gti my boss had a 1600 mg which sounded amazing on twin Webber 45 oh yes old school

Awesome. I had one of them in white. Mine was slightly upgraded and produced about 180 bhp and was certainly fast enough for some fun. Great video

I had a Maestro as my second car, first was a Maxi (pre family owned) my Maestro wasn't MG just standard 1.6 but I loved it, at the time my dad had the Montego so it was a smaller version, really strange thing happened was that the temp gauge would read high and so the choke didn't kick in but then traveling the choke kicked in and game me a Mario style boost, I had it swapped out for a manual choke as no one could figure out what the problem was.. I love retro cars and I think more Car companies should start making these, same design but updated.

Much quicker than the metro MG turbo, worked in a body shop, forever replacing & painting the plastic bumpers. Montego quick also,had great fun taking them out for a spin at work, long before speed cameras were everywhere.

Love how it still used a carb when it was cool to go injection 👍🏻😎

Great job restoring the car. The video brings back a lot of memories. I had a 1987 D reg MG Maestro 2.0 EFI in the mid 90's. It was the same colour as the one in the video. It was pretty quick for the time - I was able to easily beat the Nova 1.4 GSI fellow boy racers. But of course, it had the reputation as a granny wagon. It was pretty unreliable as well, the head gasket went followed by the engine itself. I also remember the terrible torque steer the car had even with the 2.0 engine, I can imagine it would be much worse with the turbo.

Wow my mate had 1 in black i had the mg metro race tuned British racing green white roof my fisrt proper car 👍👍

Nice to se you've maintained the original Longbridge standard of panel fit and alignment- doors you you don't need to open to be able to climb in.......

I had a Mk1 Metro Turbo back in the late 80's Silver over black A???MGE a Glasgow car originally. Living in Penrith i had the best playground and thrashed it round the lake district like id stolen it! Awesome car only let me down once on a very hot day when the turbo was so hot it was evaporating the fuel in the carb! but with 2 young kids the wife convinced me we needed a practical car....hangs head in shame...i bought a Triumph Acclaim, she was happier than me 😂😂😂

Had a 1.9 205gti and one of these pulled out on me at 120mph like i was going backwards. Obviously on a private test track.

I had a ride in one in 1992. It was a fab experience, quick for its day.

Always wanted one. Just never has the money... Nice example..

Realy nice job mate looks amazing my grandad had a none turbo when I was younger

This reminds me of when I was a kid, my dad had a white montego estate 2.0 turbo efi vanden plas with walnut trim 😂 The thing was a rocket but it wasn't long before it was as rotten as a pear.

One beautiful car. A stark contrast to the super bland MGs about now. This is a proper MG.

Dad had the 2.0 turbo desiel his Friend that worked for Perkins Put a bigger intercooler tweaked the fuel pump it was putting out 130 bhp bhp but the torque was fantastic. It towed mums Horsebox up and down the country fir 5 years no Mater how dad drove it it just done 50 mpg bloody brilliant car

Wow.. I'm impressed. It looks better than new