Iconic cars from MG we wish could make a comeback

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Morris Garages was officially named as MG in 1924. The British marque was known for its sports cars, particularly the open twin-seaters and mini cars. The 14/28 Super Sports model went on sale in September 1924. This was the second line of cars produced by William Morris's MG Company. The first set of cars comprised of the 1548cc Morris Oxfords fitted with a two-seater body supplied by Charles Raworth & Sons of Oxford. In operation for more than 90 years, the company has gifted some of finest cars to the world. Here below is a list of five such iconic models that we wish made a comeback. 

MG MGB

The year was 1962 when MG Motor introduced the world’s most affordable sportscar. The two-door sportscar’s popularity speaks for itself for the fact that the company had produced over 5 lakh units. Interestingly, the MGB was one of the first cars to feature controlled crumple zones which have been designed to protect the driver as well as the passenger during an impact with an immovable 200 ton barrier at speeds of up to 48kmph (30mph). The vehicle was capable of sprinting from 0-100kmph in just over 11 seconds. 

Prince Charles has been one of the popular figures to be associated with the MG brand. The MGB’s bigger sibling, the 1969 MGC GT (SGY 766F) had been his mode of commute to the university. The vehicle was later passed down to Prince William. The vehicle was powered by a 2912cc in-line, six-cylinder, pushrod, OHV engine that generates 150bhp. The bodyshell was essentially a basic MGB unit.

MG MGA

The MGA sports car was produced from 1955 to 1962. The vehicle replaced the replaced the MG TF 1500 Midget and was first launched at the Frankfurt Motor show. The two-seat open-top coupe had a classy long bonnet with a neat tapering rear end. The sleek design was an instant hit among car buyers. The car has featured in one of the popular Bond movies ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ where the vehicle was owned by MI6 agent Mary Goodnight. 

MG K3 Magnette

MG marked its presence in racing with the K3 that registered a class win at the 1933 Mille Miglia road race. Interestingly, this was the first time that a non-Italian team had won the race. The car is on display at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The K3 attracted the great names in the racing world – Sir Tim Birkin of Bentley fame, Whitney Straight and 'Hammy' Hamilton. Only 33 of these cars were made, thereby making it one of the prized possessions. The K3 raced well into the post-war period as well, but sadly, many of the cars never returned intact.

MG TC

The 1945 TC Midget was the first postwar MG. Its most famous customer was the Duke of Edinburgh, who bought the MG TC in August 1947. The TC is also popularly known as the model that caused the Sport Car craze in the American market. Moreover, this vehicle was exported to the US market even though it was only available as a right-hand-drive version. The vehicle was quite popular for its cockpit space. To make things more interesting, the vehicle had tachometer placed in front of the driver, while the speedometer/odometer was on the other side of the dash in front of the passenger, as a nod to the MG's trials history.

The Classic Magnette

This Magnette offered solid performance and superior features and became everyone’s favourite in no time. The car was built in two series, the ZA and ZB of 1953 through to 1958 and the Mark III and Mark IV of 1959 through to 1968, both using a modified Wolseley body and an Austin engine. The ZA was the first monocoque car to bear the MG badge. Some of the distinctive highlights of the ZA were leather-trimmed individual front seats and rear bench seat. The dashboard and door cappings were in polished wood. Soon, the ZA was replaced by the ZB which offered more power and a semi-automatic transmission, which was marketed as Manumatic. The vehicle featured a large rear window and optional two-tone paintwork.      

The company celebrated its 15 lakhs milestone with the Golden Jubilee celebration special TF 160 which was produced on 16 April 2002. Some of the other popular selling models were the Limited Edition MGTF LE 500, MG6 GT, MG6 Magnette and the MG6 GT BTCC Special Edition. In June 2014, MG celebrated its 90th year at Silverstone with the unveil of the MG3 and MG6 90th Limited Edition models.