What is a Ledbury Maestro?

[Guest]

Hmm. I'm probably inviting general derision and mirth from you guys but can someone tell me exactly what a Lebury Maestro is? I saw one linked on this website on an R plate yet I thought the Maestro production run ended long before that year. Does this mean that someone is actually still producing these cars. I hope so because mine is looking rather tired now but am very reluctant to change to another car because it's been so reliable, cheap to run and, well, fun to be really honest! Perhaps someone could give me a link to a website if there really is someone out there still making "new" Maestro's.

[D87SMW]

Oh yes, I have one of those.

[D87SMW]

This page should tell you more or less the full story.

http://www.maestroweb.co.uk/pages/at02.html

[D87SMW]

Just as extra, they are exactly the same as the Turbo Diesels which Rover were producing in 1994. Same colours, red white and blue, and have the diesel car suspension and steering setup. Despite this, they have the 1300cc A Series engines which use mountings from the van model.
As the linked page explains, they were once left hand drive, destined for use in Bulgaria. When the deal fell through however, the 621 LHD Maestro's were converted in 1998 until 2001, hence their registrations of R-Y reg. (Possibly 51 plate too!)
These cars (at least mine anyway!) have the rubber mat built into the carpet on the passenger side, LHD mirror setup (drivers side one is magnified whereas the passenger one is not) and there are also several stickers on various parts of the car which have "Bulgaria" on them.

Oh, if you are considering one of them, they are hard to find () and have insurance premiums of 5% higher than usual as they are classed as Kit cars. Otherwise, they're proper bo!

[Guest]

Ledbury Maestro

Hi, Steve. Thanks for the link which I've just visited and bookmarked. I still can't get over one thing though; your pic of your Maestro on an R plate! It's like seeing a dog with two tails. Everything seems quite normal at first until you take a second look! You probably know what I mean, Steve, from reactions you must have had from people. Your Maestro does you credit. Even from a photograph I can see it's been well loved and looked after. And not a trace of rust that I can see on the photo. It's weird, but when I bought my Maestro I just needed a cheap runaround. The price was right and it had a full MOT so I bought it and thought nothing of it. And guess what; it's been the best car I've ever owned! Never mind the rust my DLX (H903 AME) has NEVER let me down and starts every time and its fun to drive even though acceleration is measured in weeks! Since then it has grown on me and now I want another one! If I won the lottery? Sure, I'd have a 911 or 355 (or both!) but I would also definitely want a mint Turbo Maestro, fully tricked out with a full bodykit. Oh dear, I guess I'd better stop here before I start drooling!

[D87SMW]

:laugh: Yes it is rather odd, and I have had reactions from people! Like once, a guy reversing a truck with a white H reg Maestro on the back into the local scrapyard, turned round and was shocked to see an R reg sat waiting for him! :laugh:
It certainly does turn a few heads.
You're right that there's no rust on it, and it has been looked after rather well. But so has my 1989 F reg Maestro!
Sorry to disappoint you, but the only model available on these plates are the standard 1.3's like mine, and the rather similar one pictured.
Prices may seem a little steep, but most of these cars at this age are solid, rust free (I said most!), and low mileage. Mine for example, has only 16,700 on the clock! Hence the £1,000 price tag. (£4,995 when new!)
The following is RDGelders' Ledbury, with 50k on the clock.