From the outside, it's an unmistakably English scene.
A gleaming red MG rolls off the production line at the country's most famous car plant.
Yet under the bonnet – as well as behind the doors, beneath the roof and in the boot – things take a considerably more international turn.
For although the first new MG for 16 years is put together here, all its parts come from China.
It's a far cry from the classic MGB roadsters and Midgets beloved of enthusiasts.
But if the 2011 hard-top MG6 Fastback lacks its forerunners' wind-in-the hair thrill, the company's new Chinese owners insist it embraces the same spirit.
The MG6 is built at the resurrected Longbridge plant in Birmingham, with yesterday's unveiling coming six years to the week after the factory closed with the loss of 6,500 jobs.
Bosses said a 400-strong workforce will produce an initial run of 1,000-2,000 cars a year – a stark contrast to the 1960s heyday of Longbridge when the BMC and then British Leyland plant employed tens of thousands and produced 380,000 cars annually.
MG is now owned by the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation. The Chinese took control after buying MG Rover for a knock-down price from administrators after it went bust in 2005.
The four-door 1.8-litre MG6 Fastback SE costs £16,995 and will compete with the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus.It was driven off the production line by employee Lisa Ponter.
She said: 'It's very exciting, it is great to see cars coming off the line again.'
The original MGs date back to 1923. The Longbridge plant closed six years ago to the week, leading to the loss of 6,500 jobs.
Miss Ponter, who was one of those who lost her job, said she did not hesitate to return when production at the site resumed. She said: 'It's very exciting, it is great to see cars coming off the line again.
'It's been too long and hopefully more people will be employed here.
'We've had our down times when we thought it was never going to happen because we've been here a while but we have just been working hard to get to this day and it has finally arrived.
'I think it's a sign that things are on the up for the car industry.'
Speaking about her role driving the car off the production line, she added: 'It was very nerve-wracking. I was shaking to start with, hoping everything went to plan, which it did.
'And there we have it - the car came out on time and in the right place.'
It is expected that the 1.8-litre MG6 will compete with the likes of the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus.
Some of the production of the MG6 will be in China, with the engine and electrics made - and the vehicle tested - at Longbridge. Prices for the four-door car are expected to start at around £15,500, going up to about £19,000.
MG has been making cars since 1924, when it took its initials from Morris Garages, an Oxford dealer specialising in Morris cars. The MG6 is a welcome boost to the UK car industry after it was badly hit by the recession at the end of the last decade.
Production and sales dipped alarmingly at the beginning of 2009 before rallying on the back of the Labour government's car-scrappage scheme.
Craig Osman, manufacturing manager at the Longbridge plant, said: 'This has been a very exciting time. This is the first all-new product out of this plant for 16 years.
'Everybody has been involved in this project from start to finish so to get the first customer car off the line is very exciting.
'The economic climate has been tough in the West Midlands in general over the last couple of years.
'We've got an exciting product, it's fresh to the market and hopefully the public will back us and buy the product.
'So hopefully this is a new start for the Longbridge plant and hopefully the West Midlands.'
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