Cecil Kimber was appointed General Manager at Morris Garages, the sales division of Morris Cars, in 1922. Kimber was a sports car enthusiast, and he wanted to produce a series of special-bodied lightweight cars on Morris chassis, suitable for motorsport and for keen drivers. Also a shrewd businessman, his aim was to produce cars around ten percent quicker but fifty percent more expensive... The first prototype was based on a standard Morris Cowley chassis, but with a light two-seater roadster body. The four-cylinder, 1550cc 11.9hp sidevalve engine from the Cowley was modified to an overhead valve design in the initial car, although the early production models used the Morris Oxford's 14hp sidevalve units. In 1924, Carbodies of Coventry was commissioned to start producing two- and four-seater sports car bodies, and the first car, a four-seater called a Special Sports 14/28, was made in March.
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| 1927 MG Special Sports 14/28 |
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Kimber took the initials of Morris Garages to form the name of his new subsidiary, and on 1st May 1924, the octagon badge was registered as a trademark. Production of the new MG range started formally on 1st September, with prices starting from £395 (the standard four-seater Oxford was £285, and the Cowley as little as £195). Kimber was keen to get into motorsport, however, and in 1925 he had a special car built for his own use. This car, which became known later as "Old Number One", had a heavily modified chassis, an even lighter body and the overhead valve engine, and it won the gold medal at that year's Land's End Trial.
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| 1929 M-Type Midget |
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The original "Bullnose" Morris models were updated in 1926 to receive a new "Flatnose" radiator, and the MGs were modified accordingly. A year later, MG production moved into a new purpose-built facility in Cowley, and in 1928 MG was set up as a separate company from Morris Garages. Two new models were launched late that year, the six-cylinder 18/80 grand tourer with 2.5-litre OHC engine, and the first Midget, the M-Type. This was based on the new Morris Minor chassis, and used the same 847cc OHC engine; it had a fabric-covered two-seater body and cost just £175.
The Autocar magazine said that "The MG Midget will make sports car history." It proved such a success that MG moved to larger premises at the end of 1929, to the former Pavlova Leather Company works at Abingdon. The MG Car Company Limited was formally established, with William Morris (Lord Nuffield) as governing director and Kimber as managing director.
