By the early 1950s, the TD Midget was looking increasingly dated next to new models such as Jaguar's XK120, but the Nuffield empire was in the midst of a reshuffle again. MG was merged with Austin into the new British Motor Corporation. Managing director of the new firm was Leonard Lord - who had been working for Herbert Austin since 1937, when he had fallen out with Nuffield at Morris. The first new MG product to arrive under the auspices of BMC was the TF, a mildly worked-over TD with the 1250cc engine and, a year later, a 1500cc unit. This model failed to grab much attention, not least because Triumph had launched its TR2 that year as well. The all-new ZA-series Magnette - a badge-engineered Wolseley - was more acclaimed, however, with its modern unitary construction and the new 1.5-litre B-Series engine. Luckily, the TF was really just an interim model to plug the gap before an all-new sports car was ready, though in retrospect, many enthusiasts cherish it as "the last of the real MGs".
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| 1955 MGA Twin Cam |
As BMC boss, Leonard Lord gave the go-ahead to Austin, in partnership with Donald Healey, to produce an all-new affordable sports car, the Sprite. MG manager John Thornley wanted to make a larger sports car, aimed specifically at the American market, and after much persuasion Lord finally green-lighted the MGA for 1955. With a more modern chassis, structurally rigid body and the 1.5 B-Series engine, it was instantly a public success, helped by the participation of three prototypes in the Le Mans 24 Hours and a publicity high-speed run by John Gott, who achieved 112.3 miles in one hour. The production car only did 90mph and 0-60mph in 15 seconds, but sales took off all the same. Addressing the demands of more performance-oriented fans, the Twin Cam version soon joined the range too - 111mph and 0-60 in 9.1 seconds - but this was relatively short-lived as it proved unreliable and the warranty claims mounted up. The 1600cc MGA was more robust. Overall, more than 100,000 MGAs were made, including 2111 Twin Cams, plus a supercharged EX181 record-breaker, the last of MG's aerodynamic land speed record holders and driven to over 250mph by Stirling Moss and Phil Hill.
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| 1959 MG Magnette III |
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The BMC bean-counters were holding firm, though, and the 1959 Magnette III was little more than a leather-upholstered version of the Farina-styled Austin A55 Cambridge; the 1.5-litre engine was uprated from 53bhp to 60bhp with the fitment of twin carburettors for the Magnette IV (1961), which remained on sale right up until late 1968.
