MGA – Britain’s first real production Sports Car?

First published in Moss Motoring Spring 1983

From its launch date in September 1955 until its demise in July of 1962, 101,081 MGA’s of all types were built. Of these, U.S. exports accounted for 81,153 in the following versions: 48,431 “1500’s” (production dates August 1955 – May 1959); 1,035 “Twin Cams” (September 1958 – June 1960); 25,219 “1600’s (May 1959 – April 1961); and 6,468 “MK II’s” (April 1961 – June 1962). Note that production dates and launch dates are usually different, if you keep track of these things! There both roadster and coupe versions of all models, but no records have been found to indicate what quantities of each were made.

As a sports enthusiast’s car, top speeds generally varied from around 98 mph in the 1500 up to 113 mph in the Twin Cam model. Likewise, typical fuel consumption figures were 30 mpg in the 1500 down to 25 mpg in the Twin Cam. A few of the basic and note-worthy technical specifications were: ‘1500″ – 1489 cc; 2 S.U. Carburetors; 68 bhp @ 5500 rpm; raised to 72 bhp after initial production; drum brakes front and rear. “1600” -1588 cc; 79.5 bhp @ 5600 rpm; disc brakes front and drum brakes rear. “1600” MK II” -1622 cc; 86 bhp @ 5500 rpm. “Twin Cam” -1588 cc; 108 bhp @ 6700 rpm; front and rear disc brakes. To slightly confuse the market, a few “1600 MK II Deluxe” models were made which had the Twin Cam chassis with all round disc brakes but with a standard 1622 cc pushrod engine. These are today a much sought-after collector’s item.

In all of its various forms the MGA is generally considered to have been a pretty car and a worthy successor to the earlier T-series. It considerably strengthened MG’s market share in competition with the very successful Triumph TR’s and Austin Healey’s both of which had made the T-Series seem really antiquated.

MGA’s had an exceptionally strong chassis plus a useful 10 gallon gas tank though the first signs of product rationalization by Abingdon (so evident nowadays on modern cars) could be seen occurring even in the late 1950’s. Early criticism of the non-MG engine was seemingly forgotten as the car’s power and reliability became appreciated. Syd Enever is famous for the inspired body shape; John Thornley (MG’s General manager) and Cecil Cousins (Works manager) led the team of engineers and production people who developed the MGA over its seven year life-span.

MGA Dash

Under Marcus Chambers, Competitions manager (1954-1961) the car was quite heavily campaigned. Le Mans cars were entered in the 1955 race and performed splendidly as prototypes. MGA’s were raced worldwide and notably at the Dundrod

T.T.(Ireland), Florida, and Sebring, although European Rallying became a predominant interest. Such names as Ted Lund, John Gott, George Phillips, Stirling Moss, and Phil Hill are associated closely with the competition work.

As the 1960’s approached all this competition work had shown the “1500” road car to be a little too heavy and underpowered. The “1600” cured many of these problems and helped revitalize sales. Lockheed 11″ front disk brakes were a notable improvement and it was a pity that the MK II which came out in the spring of 1961 only lasted for 15 months.

Regrettably, the Twin Cam was not really a commercial success with 2,111 being built. Reliability was its main problem; the high compression ratio (9.9:1) didn’t help, as well as a tendency to burn oil, which soon gave it a poor reputation. However, this was an excellent proving ground for the MGB.

In its 7 year history the overall MGA concept changed little, although there were 3 different engines. Spare parts are widely available (certainly from Moss Motors!), and U.S. enthusiasts are fortunate that most of the cars came to this country.

In summary, the MGA was an excellent 1950’s sports car, and really helped spread the aura of MG around the world. It firmly established MG as one of the famous marques in the British car enthusiast’s stable and now has a secure place in motoring history.

Today, with T-Series MG’s having become so expensive, the MGA is rapidly gaining renewed popularity as a restorable car which is a good investment, both in financial terms and as a car which offers its owner great fun and driving pleasure.