MG: The Iconic British Sports Car

New MG models of the period 1935 to 1939 were more closely based on standard components from the Morris Wolseley saloon car range. The SA model, introduced at the 1935 Motor Show, was a comfortable six-cylinder sports saloon, and drophead coupe, with a two-litre engine, soon enlarged to 2.3-litres, which for elegance and performance was a close competitor of the contemporary Jaguar. It was followed by a 1.5-litre four cylinder VA model and in 1938, by the 2.6-litre WA, MG’s largest car to date, both similar to the SA in concept.

There was also a new Midget in 1936, the 1.3-litre TA, replaced just before the war by the improved TB with a new and more robust short-stroke 1250cc engine.

The new Midget MG became an active and successful participant in contemporary trials. Record breaking was not forgotten: in 1938 MG built the EX135 for Goldie Gardner, based on a K3 chassis with a new all-enveloping body. In 1939 this car set new 1100cc and 1500cc class records at speeds over 200mph.

MG’s best pre-war year was 1937 with almost 3,000 cars built. Total production from 1923 to 1939 amounted to some 22,500 cars, with the most popular individual models such as the M type or the TA reaching just over 3,000 cars.

The Abingdon factory was quickly converted to war production but in 1941 MG’s founder, Cecil Kimber, was dismissed by the Nuffield Organisation for failing to fit into the wartime pattern of the company. In 1945, Kimber was tragically killed in a railway accident.

The company therefore faced the post-war world without its original leader. However, the men at Abingdon quickly got back into car production with the TC in 1945, a developed version of the 1939 TB. In 1947 this was followed by a new small saloon, the Y type, using a similar 1250cc engine and MG’s first independent front suspension, designed already before the war by a young Alec Issigonis. The TC in particular became popular, and was the first MG to be shipped in quantity to the USA where MG would become established as the most popular sports car make. The TD model of 1950 combined the Y type chassis and suspension with a TC like body. Where some 10,000 TCs had been made, the TD reached almost 30,000 of which the vast majority were sold in North America.

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