THE TALE OF THE MAESTRO FROM BULGARIA

When people see Justin’s Maestro, they tend to stare in amazement. This is not just because any Maestro is now an unusual sight, but because of its X-registration prefix. Surely, many of them mutter, it was not still being produced as late as 2000? But this is no standard model, as it is a ‘Ledbury Maestro’ - made in Bulgaria.

31 years ago, UK production of the Maestro had entered its final phase, while BMW had acquired the Rover Group. On the 18th of April 1994, The Telegraph reported that “Tooling for the production of the Maestro car and van will be shipped to Bulgaria after production ends at Cowley in the autumn. The vehicles will be assembled at Varna from kits of parts sent out from Cowley”.

By 1994, the continuation of defunct British cars overseas was an established concept with the Paykan (aka the Hillman Hunter) of Iran and India’s Hindustan Ambassador, formerly the Morris Oxford Series III. The Rodacar AD company undertook Maestro assembly. Rover holding 51% of the shares, with Daru, BMW’s main agent in Bulgaria, holding the remainder. This was a major venture—the largest overseas investment in Bulgaria since the end of the Cold War.

President Zhelyu Zhelev opened the factory on the 8th of September 1995. The initial plan was for Rodacar to build 5,000 Maestros per year for Bulgaria and neighbouring countries, with assembly rising to 10,000 units per annum. Their specifications were akin to the entry-level Clubman, with the Maestro Van’s lower-ratio gearbox, and the Diesel’s 14-inch wheels to enhance ground clearance.

However, the story ended on the 4th of April 1996 after a mere 2,200 Maestros – with only around 200 sold in Bulgaria. Rodacar faced competition from the likes of the Skoda Felicia, while Rover complained that, despite their assurances, the Bulgarian authorities did not order any Maestros for their own fleets. The deputy prime minister, Roumen Gechev, counterargued that the Maestro was uncompetitive in Bulgaria and that there was no marketing strategy.

However, there was a postscript. In 1997, Parkway Services of Ledbury in Herefordshire acquired a vast number of unsold kits, plus the RHD conversion materials; when Bulgarian supplies of the latter ceased, they sourced steering gear from scrapped Maestros. Parkway installed a right-hand-drive steering column and wipers, and a new dashboard. They sold 621 examples of the Rodacar Maestros in the UK until as recently as 2001.  Justin’s is one of the last, being registered in January of that year.

HM Government classed the ‘Ledbury Maestros’ as “kit cars” and their major attraction was a price of £4,995, making it the cheapest new car in the UK. On the 22nd of October 1997, Autocar noted, “Thought you’d heard the last of Austin Maestro deals?” Colour choices may have been limited to black, blue, red, or white, and the bodywork harked back to the heyday of Duran Duran, but no one could question the Ledbury Maestro’s value for money.

And, as with Justin’s Ledbury Maestro today, they certainly cause more than their fair share of double-takes.

With thanks to Justin Howard for his time.

With thanks to Justin Howard for the permission to use the images in this blog.