New lease of life for Rover?

MG Rover appeared dead and buried 12 months ago, but the venerable British nameplate refuses to die.

Recent European press reports suggest that the Rover brand name -- currently owned by BMW -- is about to change hands for the princely sum of $28.5 million.

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), the Chinese company that last year bought the intellectual property rights to the Rover 25 and 75, is reportedly in talks with the Bavarians with a view to acquiring the 100-plus-year-old nameplate.

BMW purchased MG Rover in the 1990s, but offloaded it to the Phoenix Consortium in 2000 after failing to turn it into a profitable enterprise. However, the crafty Bavarians retained the Rover brand name, undoubtedly realising the value of the badge.

Although BMW denies it, The Birmingham Post reports that a press conference confirming the sale of the Rover name -- and a new badge for the brand -- is scheduled for August 22.

It's believed SAIC will use the Rover name to re-launch updated versions of the 25 and 75 internationally.

The newspaper says SAIC staved off a challenge from Chinese rival Nanjing Automobile by offering around 20 times more money for the Rover name.

Nanjing last year acquired the assets of the MG Rover plant at Longbridge following the collapse of the company and plans to resume limited production of the MG TF there.

In fact, the new boss of Nanjing subsidiary MG Cars, Duke Hale, recently told US automotive website Edmunds.com that the company would also build a coupe version of the TF roadster -- based on the MG GT Concept -- in Oklahoma, USA.

The roadster will launch in Europe in 2007, with US coupe production set to commence in 2008.

According to the Edmunds report, there will also be three MG sedans -- small, medium and large -- built in China. These models will be offered in Europe, but time will tell whether the new-age MG brand dips its toes in the Australian market.