1990 TD 2000 Roadster

Evoking the memory of the classic T-Series MGs, the TD2000 story dates back to 1984, when an Australian Jaguar dealer, Ross Marshall, had the opportunity to acquire the original TD tooling from the United States. Marshall spent several years developing a replica based around the running gear from Nissan's Pulsar but got no further than a single prototype before the recession intervened and, in 1987, he sold the business to Australian Classic Cars. A second-generation TD2000 was shown at the 1988 Sydney Motor Show and production commenced in Ararat, Victoria shortly afterwards. However, financial troubles saw yet another change of owner, with A.F.Gason taking over the reigns and an estimated 90 or so TD2000s were eventually built in Australia. Plans were afoot to export the TD2000 to Japan, where the market for retro cars was booming, in 1990 but once again financial difficulties got in the way. In 1998, production of the TD2000 shifted to Malaysia when a group of entrepreneurs there took over the rights to the name and tooling, and it has since been widely exported. Contemporary reports of the Australian-made TD2000 sang its praises for the high build quality and properly developed chassis (with former HDT engineers making the most of the proprietary Nissan suspension componentry) but it's the combination of modern safety features and ease of driving with a traditional 'wind in the hair' driving experience that gives the TD2000 its unique appeal.