Little RWD Coupé built in Brazil.
The ML 929 and the TS were functionally the same car but fitted with different engines, the 929 exclusively had transverse 1.3L I4s while the TS Versions produced from 1982 onwards had larger 1.6L and 1.8L engines from VW which were longitudinally mounted.
From 1986 onwards the 1.3L ML 929 was beginning to be overshadowed by the much more powerful TS Variants of the Car.
The name 929 comes from the Founder’s mother who was Maria Luisa born in 1929. The TS name comes from the B2 Generation Volkswagen Passat of which it used the engines from.
Early ML models featured a 1.3L I4 from Fiat producing around 62hp (45kw) and 113n.m of torque (83/b-ft) which was enough to get the roughly 1140kg (2500lbs) when fully laden vehicle moving at a decent pace.
With this little engine the car had an estimated Top Speed of just over 140kph (90mph) and a 0-100kph time of 11.6s.
All versions of both cars had either a 4-Speed Manual or a 5-Speed Manual on higher trims from 1983 onwards.
From around 1981 onwards different engines options were also available for different variants of the model.
The first option available was an upgraded version of that 1.3L which had a similar gross weight to the base but had around 72hp (53kw) with 106n.m of torque (78lb-ft). The factory claimed the car was capable of a Top Speed of 179kph (111mph) with a 9.8s 0-100kph time but these were never tested and are incredibly optimistic estimates.
Next up from that in 1982 a VW 1.6L Engine was available which produced around 72hp (53kw) and 119n.m of torque (88lb-ft). Factory estimates for this are also incredibly optimistic with claims of a 188kph Top Speed (117mph) with a 10.2s 0-100kph. The Weight with this engine went up to 1170kg (2580lbs) but the extra torque helped make up the difference.
A more powerful tune on that 1.6L Engine provided a substantial increase in performance up to 82hp (60kw) and 127n.m of torque (94lb-ft). General estimates for Top Speed with this one were over 160kph (100mph) with 0-100kph times coming down to around 10.8s.
From 1985 an even bigger 1.8L Engine was made available as an option which lead to Performance increase of 98hp (73kw) and 146n.m of torque (118lb-ft). The car in this guise had an estimated Top speed of around 188kph (117mph) and a 0-100kph of 8.2s.
Another tune of the same 1.8L was available which had slightly less performance at 90hp with 142n.m of torque (105lb-ft). The Factory again provided optimistic figures of a 195kph (121mph) Top Speed and a more reasonable 0-100kph time of 9.5s.
Generally the two engines had different performance figures based on the Gearbox equipped in the car.
They also featured a simple but quite nice interior
A Video on the 929 in Portuguese
