Sir William Lyons Award 2010 pt.1: Interview – Jonathan Sellars

Posted on 13/11/2010 by Sam Skelton

Jonathan Sellars is a name that few will know outside the world of the Austin Maestro. Yet he is responsible for the creation of one of the friendliest and most welcoming owners' and enthusiasts' clubs in the world; that catering for the unfairly derided Maestro and Montego ranges from Austin-Rover. "It's hard to say where my love of the Maestro came from," he tells me as we contemplate his award-winning MG Maestro EFi. "Years ago I used to like "The Brittas Empire" where a Maestro featured Read more [...]

Austin Maestro Vanden Plas

Posted on 29/07/2010 by Sam Skelton

Smooth operator... If you're not likely to put your foot down often, a Vanden Plas is probably the best Maestro in the real world. You get lovely wood cappings, leather trim if you go for a later one, or a digidash if your favoured variants are pre-84. Power steering was a later option, and automatic transmission was available for those who like myself prefer the lazy life. Some readers may question my logic in reviewing this car in addition to the MG1600 and 1.6 Mayfair, but trust me on Read more [...]

MG Maestro EFi

Posted on 28/07/2010 by Sam Skelton

The Golf GTi will be along in a second... When I was young, a friend of my father's had an MG Maestro EFi. My father thought little of it, spouting his anti-Leyland guff at me in the Rover 800. "Rattly, poorly made, didn't feel THAT quick" and so on and so forth. But I'd read good things of them, and Kevin's Targa Red EFi made a powerful impression. Later in life, through the Maestro and Montego Owners' Club, I encountered many individuals who love their cars, and I was getting itchy feet Read more [...]

Austin Maestro 1.6 Mayfair

Posted on 26/07/2010 by Sam Skelton

More than a Mayfair... Simon Heap is my kind of chap. He doesn't always like his cars to be the way they left the factory, but the way he chooses to improve them is to make any addition look like a factory fit. Rear head restraints, for a kickoff - never fitted to a Maestro yet his 272000 mile Mayfair has them. Ditto a CD player - made by the same company as the standard radio, and subtle enough to not look out of place. Power steering - a genuine factory option - is another retro-fit to the Read more [...]

Austin Maestro 1.3L

Posted on 25/07/2010 by Sam Skelton

Bread and butter motoring, 1980s style... In bread-and-butter form the Maestro is an oft-derided car. I may as well admit it here, despite the fact I like Maestros and Montegos I'm a bit of a snob with it. Don't laugh and say that you can't be snobby about Maestros, you can. What I mean is that in general I'd rather have a 1.6 Mayfair, Vanden Plas, or MG to any base models, Ls, HLs, HLSs or any of the 1.3 cars. a 1.3 with a 4 speed gearbox is definitely out on the lower end of the snob scale. But Read more [...]