100 Years of MG
In the weekend of 3 and 4 June the British sports car marque MG is celebrating its 100th anniversary in the Louwman Museum.
special MG VA once owned by MG-founder Cecil Kimber.
member of the Arkell’s Brewery family from Swindon, UK. The original invoice is still in the possession of the Early MG Society. The first MG advertisements also appeared in 1923.
In 1927 the new Flatnose radiator was fitted to the new models. The first 6-cylinder models were presented at the London Motor Show. In 1929 the company expanded and moved from Oxford to Abingdon-on-Thames, operating as a separate company, the MG Car Company. The famous sports cars with the octagonal badge left the factory in Abingdon and were shipped all over the world.
The racing department also produced cars for land speed racing. In 1957 famous racing driver Sir Stirling Moss broke the world speed record for class F cars at the Bonneville Salt Flats in the USA in an MG EX-181. The car, fitted with a 1.5 litre twin-cam, supercharged MGA engine, achieved a top speed of 254 mph (395.31 km/h).
Pre and post-WWII
Between 1935 and the outbreak of World War II, MG also built large saloon cars. Tragically Cecil Kimber never witnessed the post-war success of ‘his MG marque’: he died in a train crash in November 1945. Production started up straight after the war with the MG TC, the first European sports car to be exported all over the world. It proved to be a great success, particularly in America, where it influenced the organisation of the first American Grand Prix at Watkins Glen.
The T-type series was produced up to 1955 when MG switched to the MGA, still built in the traditional way, with a separate body on a ladder chassis. A total of 101,081 units of this attractive sports car were built before production ended in 1962. It was followed by the MGB, the first affordable sports car with a unitary body. It was a world-wide success. The MGB had a production run of 19 years and in total 850,000 MGBs were manufactured. The last MGB to come off the assembly line is now displayed in a small MG museum in Abingdon-on-Thames, UK.
Marque of Friendship
MG friendship clubs were established all over the world to help enthusiasts with the maintenance and restoration of their MGs. In the Netherlands there are three MG clubs, each with its own identity: the MG Car Club Holland for all MGs, the MG A-Type Owners Holland for owners of an MGA and the M.G. T-Type & PreWar Owners Holland for owners of MGs built before 1955. The common motto, MG, the Marque of Friendship is as valid today as it was 100 years ago.
After 1980
During the past 100 years MG has had no fewer than 8 different owners. After a period of 12 years in which no MGs were built at all, MG started manufacturing the MG RV8 in 1992. Later owners include the Rover Group (itself owned by BMW) (MGF and MGTF) and the MG Rover Group. The MG marque along with other assets of MG Rover were purchased by Nanjing Automobile Group.
Following a merger with SAIC, the largest Chinese car manufacturer, the MG6 was launched in 2011, the first new production model to be exported all over the world. SAIC at present produces primarily electrically powered family cars and SUVs, but a new sports car is currently being developed.
MG Centenary
In 2021 the MG Cyberster concept car was presented to the world’s press, under the motto ‘The Future is Arriving’: a new electric sports car built to celebrate the centenary of the MG brand. If production of this attractive budget electric sports car starts in 2023 MG will once again be a sports car marque with a future.
