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'It was through my other half that I started getting into Maestros' remarks Lucy 'Steve has had many over the last 15 years and, after meeting him eight odd years ago, I got into the car scene.' Two years later Ms. Worsley acquired J 209 PEL, a 1991 1.3 Clubman, and it is now part of a line-up that includes NGO 378 Y - a 1983 1.3 HLE - and two 1996-vintage examples of the Bulgarian-built "Rodacar"; N 207 ENE and T 546 EAG.

Early Maestros are now a rare sight and NGO is especially unusual as it is the oldest surviving road-legal example. The HLE was registered just two weeks after the official production began in March 1983 and Lucy discovered it on eBay in 2020. 'We have re-commissioned her and restored her after years of abuse with its previous owners'.

The 1991 Clubman was similarly discovered on eBay when Lucy was searching for her first car. At that time the Maestro resided in a Preston dealership and on visiting the showroom, she found it hidden in a corner. 'At first, I wasn't interested much, but when we went back a second time it was pulled out we had a good look around, and I fell in love with it'.

British production ceased in 1994 and in the following year, Rover helped establish a venture in Bulgaria to assemble the Maestro from CKD kits. However, a mere 2,200 cars left the Varna plant before its closure in April 1996.  N 207 was originally bought by Lucy's partner in 2007, and at that time there was just 1,434km on the clock. It had been shipped to the UK, with plans for the Maestro to be sold in Poland.

However, the sale did not take place, so N 207 returned here and was 'put into storage in Suffolk. Steve sold it three years later where, in the following ten years, it travelled to many countries with other classic car enthusiasts'. By October 2020, it 'was put up for sale with only 16,700km on the clock and instantly my other half bought it back. He always maintained it was the one Maestro he regrets selling and always wanted to repurchase it if it ever came up for sale again'.

Finally, we have T 546, which joined the Worsley line-up in 2017 'after being advertised on the Maestro enthusiast group page by a lady who used it around Spain for many years'. After seeing the advert, Lucy quickly bought the Maestro as ‘certain parties wanted to use it as a shell'.

T 456 remained at the Varna plant until 1999 when he was shipped through via a UK firm to Lifestyle Garages in Spain, a British car dealership. It received 'an export plate of T54 DXP then a Spanish registration of MA 8871 CV once sold in Fuengirola.' After becoming its custodian, Lucy had the Maestro' trailered from Worcester and re-commissioned for use in the UK.'

Today, the Worsley fleet is very well known within club circles and 'they always get looks when we drive around. People have come to us to speak about our cars and how they used to have them 'back in the day'’. And seeing Lucy's four classic cars is a vivid reminder of how remote the 1990s now seem – a decade when virtually every street featured at least one Maestro.

With Thanks To: Lucy Worsley

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