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| 1970 MG Midget |
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In 1970, Motor magazine described the now-ageing MGB as "vintage but competitive". It paid tribute to the MG brand by saying that "there is no doubt that for a substantial proportion of motoring enthusiasts throughout the world, the letters MG are almost synonymous with the term sports car… its high export sales make the MG to some extent an ambassador for Britain." And it concluded in a full road test that though some attention to detail let it down and its ride could be hard and rough, the roadster was "still a fast and satisfactory sports car. In performance it is still acceptably rapid... in its responsive, accurate steering and well-balanced behaviour it can still teach the young 'uns a thing or two." At £1195, it was the cheapest roadster in its class, undercutting the Triumph TR6 by £240.
The idea of a more powerful MG continued to appeal, however, and aftermarket tuner Ken Costello had been modifying MGBs for some years by fitting V8 engines. The popularity of these - and the availability of the Buick-sourced 3.5 V8 fitted in the Rover and Range Rover ranges - finally prompted MG to do its own V8. In GT form only, the big engine (which developed only 137bhp despite its size, but had a generous 193lb ft of torque) accelerated the B from 0-60 in 12 seconds and produced a top speed of 104mph: still not that fast, and the MGB GT was generally considered to be too little, too late, if a better all-rounder than the MGC. Fewer than 2600 examples were made from 1973-76.
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| 1973 MGB GT V8 |
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With British Leyland putting an end to works motorsport activity, and little investment in the brand, MG struggled through the '70s with its increasingly outdated, outclassed range. The 1974-on models were forced to wear new rubber bumpers to meet US crash test legislation, and these have yet to achieve the same classic car status as their predecessors. The Midget received the 1500cc Triumph engine (65bhp) and - finally - the all-synchromesh gearbox, but beyond that, the MG range was effectively left to dwindle whilst Leyland pumped all its sports car budget into the Triumph brand. In financial difficulties, Leyland was nationalised in 1975 - also the year that the millionth MG, a left-hand-drive MGB roadster in Brooklands Green with Jubilee livery, rolled off the production lines. The Midget went out of production in 1979, and the MGB soldiered on for a further year, kept alive by special edition models and nostalgia.
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