The Automobile Factory Where Time Has Stopped: Haunting Photos Of The Famous Longbridge MG Rover Plant
After the Longbridge MG Rover plant closed in 2005 and shut down completely in 2016, it left haunting images of unfinished cars on the production line. Once bustling with 25,000 workers in the 1980s, the plant now stands abandoned, a stark contrast to its former glory.
Abandoned Light Blue Rover 75 On The Production Line
This eerie photo shows a rusty, unfinished Rover 75 abandoned on the production line, missing wheels, windows, and parts of its front. Once nearing completion, it now sits forgotten over a decade after the plant's closure. Manufactured from 1999-2005, the Rover 75 appeared in shows like Midsomer Murders and V for Vendetta.
Ghostly Image Of Part Of The Body Painting Line
This eerie image shows the body painting line, where hot air jets dry the Rover 75’s paint. Experts believe the plant’s closure was due to a flawed business model and high import costs, leading to poor car sales. MG Rover attempted to preserve jobs by relocating employees.
Scattered Paperwork And Floppy Computer Disks Are Left Behind
Scattered paperwork, yellowed with age and smeared with grease, shows the abrupt departure of staff as the plant was abandoned. A tossed floppy disk and documents, including a training brochure and customer indemnity form, suggest workers left in haste, leaving everything frozen in time.
The Main Entrance Of MG Rover Longbridge Plant
The photo shows the MG Rover Longbridge Plant entrance with the Union, MG, and Chinese flags. After Nanjing Automobile bought the plant for £53 million, production was moved to China. MG Motors relocated workers but saw the move as necessary, with all MG cars now assembled in China and imported to the UK.
Deserted Body Shell Of The Rover 75
Over a decade after its closure, the Rover 75 factory still holds auto parts and unfinished cars. Photographer Dab Hand captured the eerie silence of the vast, space, where even the smallest sound echoed. Personal belongings and abandoned cars made the plant feel haunted, as if workers might return, but never would.
A Large Rain Puddle Reveals The Vastness Of The Plant
This photograph shows the vast Longbridge plant in Birmingham, with a large rain puddle reflecting the maze of upper floors. Despite its closure in 2005 and years of abandonment, the plant remains exactly as it was on its last day of production. Founded by Herbert Austin, it operated for nearly a century.
Spare Auto Parts Remain Unused
This photo shows a massive storage room at the Longbridge plant, filled with unused auto parts. Left untouched since the plant's closure in 2005, the room still holds small parts on shelves and larger ones in containers, with dust on the floor. Safety markers remain brightly painted, highlighting the eerie emptiness of a space that once buzzed with activity.
Never-To-Be-Used Rover 75-Door Handles
These dusty door handles, in colors like yellow, blue, red, and black, will never be attached to a Rover 75. The variety of colors stored in crates reflects the car's popularity before the plant closed in 2005, following the discontinuation of the model after eight versions.
An Image Of The Longbridge Production Line In 1979
In the 1980s, the plant employed 25,000 workers, with a bustling production line evident in this 1979 photograph. In stark contrast, the abandoned factory decades later shows unfinished, dusty Rover 75s, scattered auto parts, and debris, with rainwater leaking through the ceiling.
