About The MGA Sports Car

When production of the somewhat unsuccessful MG TF ceased in 1955, putting an end to the MG Midget, a completely new MG appeared on the scene. The design and styling was a complete departure from previous MG sports cars and came as quite a shock to the die–hard MG fans of the day.

A New Model – A New Engine

The MGA had a streamlined body that did away with outboard front and rear wings and was right up to the minute in terms of appearance and technical specification. The trusty old XPAG power unit had disappeared and in its place was the 1500cc BMC B–series unit that had made its debut in the then recently announced MG Magnette saloon.

The BMC B–Series engine went on to power (in various forms) a great many cars in the BMC range, right up until the demise of the Abingdon factory in 1980.

Before the official launch of the MGA in 1955, three aluminium bodied prototypes of the new sports car, code-named EX182, were entered into Le Mans endurance race. Fortunately for MG, the cars performed well, finishing fifth and sixth in their class.

Motorsport Success Helped to Create Interest in the MGA

The MGA was announced shortly after this, so the car already had a competition background as testimony to its pedigree. No doubt this did much to ensure its acceptance by enthusiasts who were reluctant to say goodbye to the traditionally styling of the old MG T–series.

The MGA had a two–seater open body and was unmistakably a development of the earlier Le Mans racer design. The chassis was a development of the MG Midget TD unit, but with more widely spaced side rails to facilitate a lower seating position in the new sleek looking body.

The design of the car body not only put the driver and passenger in a more sensible position, but it had the added advantage of lowering the centre of gravity, consequently improving its cornering ability.

Other than a shortened, stylised and widened version of the familiar MG radiator grill, there was very little about the MGA that held a slightest resemblance to any previous model the Abingdon factory had produced.

The MGA was offered with bolt–on steel wheels as standard equipment, but centre–locking wire wheels were available as an option. Also as an option was a removable hard top with rigid sliding windows to replace the side screens of the soft top.

Initially, the engine power output of the MGA was 68bhp, but this was up rated very shortly after the initial launch of the car to 72bhp.

The MGA Helped to Repair
MG’s Damaged Reputation in The United States

Helped by its previous competition success the car was well received upon its launch and soon became appreciated for its impressive performance in standard road–going form. It also offered very good value for money and was exported in large numbers to the USA, where it did much to revive the MG company’s flagging reputation.

The MGA Coupé is Launched

A year after the original launch, a coupe version of the MGA was announced. This had a high curved roofline and a larger windscreen than the soft top version of the car.

The doors were fitted with wind–up windows and opening hinged quarter–lights, which made the car a more civilised form of sports car.

By 1958 competition in the sports car market had become fierce, with the Jaguar XK series, the Austin Healey 100 and the Triumph TR2 all aiming to grab as many MG sales as possible.

The standard MGA continued to be sold in both open top and coupe versions, but a new version appeared, and was manufactured as in addition, rather than as a replacement, to the standard MGA.

The MGA Twin–Cam

To try and stave off the competition, MG produced a new high performance version of the MGA, fitted with a newly developed twin camshaft engine. Although aimed at competition use rather than everyday road use, the MGA Twin–Cam was MG’s response to the hunger of the buying public for more and more engine power.

Although the car had very little to distinguish it visually from the standard MGA model, apart from having special centre–locking steel wheels, there was a lot more to it than met the eye.

The MG twin–cam engine was a development of the BMC B–series unit of the standard car, but with a strengthened bottom end and a new top end. The cylinder head, however, was a new aluminium unit incorporating twin overhead camshafts with twin SU carburettors fitted as standard. Power output was around 110bhp.

The power increase of the MGA Twin–Cam was sufficient to propel the new car to a maximum speed of around 115mph. By comparison to other cars of the day, the upgraded MGA slashed acceleration times by a considerable amount, with 0–60mph coming up in under 12–seconds.

Disc Brakes on all Four Wheels

Due to the additional power provided by the MG twin–cam engine it was considered the old drum brakes were no longer suitable and these were replaced by disc brakes on all four wheels. This was quite an innovation for a car of this class and built during this time in history.

However, all was not well for the MGA Twin–Cam. Despite its very good showing in a wide range of competition events it was a car that needed sympathetic treatment from an understanding driver. Unfortunately, the increasing level of civilisation in sports cars had led to a new breed of sports car driver who was not quite as in tune with the mechanic of their machines as their contemporaries had been in those early post war days.

The MGA Twin–Cam was a highly–strung thoroughbred machine and was easily damaged through misuse and lack of understanding. The engine was very easy to over–rev, for example, and oil consumption was heavy.

The MGA Twin–Cam Quickly Earned a Bad Reputation

As a result of buyer misunderstanding the MGA Twin–Cam quickly got a bad reputation. Having only been launched in the summer of 1958 it was discontinued in 1959 with a total of only 2,111 examples having been built. In fact, the MGA Twin–Cam represented the shortest production model run the MG factory had seen for a car.

However, by 1959, and despite the troubles suffered with the MGA Twin–Cam, the future looked promising for MG. The standard MGA was selling so well the factory could barely produce enough cars to keep up with demand.

At this time the MG works at Abingdon was also busy producing the six–cylinder Austin Healey 100⁄6, a car that was also selling very well. However, the MG factory was then tasked with building a new small sports car, in addition to their existing responsibilities – the Austin Healey Sprite.

The MGA MkII is Launched

In 1961, the MGA 1600 MkII appeared. Now the car had a 1622cc version of the standard BMC B–series engine that developed 93bhp, an increase of some 25bhp over the original MGA. Other changes included new rear lights and a redesigned front grille with inset vertical slats.

The MGA MkII was capable of a speed that was well in excess of 100mph, this offering similar performance figures to the Twin–Cam, but without the fussiness of a highly–strung engine.

A few remaining Twin–Cam chassis’ were also given the 1622cc B–series engine, but retained the four–wheel disc brakes and centre–lock steel wheels. This model was known as the MGA 1600 MkII De Luxe.

The MGA Competed Against the Triumph TR4 for Sales

In this same year the MGA MkII was launched, the all new Giovanni Michelotti designed Triumph TR4 was launched, a car that offered a much more macho image than the MGA and a performance level to match its good looks.

In the tradition of the earlier MG sports cars, the MGA had been built with a separate chassis to provide support and strength to the car, and to carry all the mechanical components as well as the body. By the end of the 1950’s however, methods of car construction had moved on, and the days of the separate chassis were almost over, although Triumph cars continued with seperate chassis’ right through to 1980.

By the beginning of the 1960’s, and despite the fact that the MGA was still a very good sports car, it was decided the design was getting a little long in the tooth and should be replaced.

One of the critical observations on the MGA at this time was that of it not offering the level of interior comfort being demanded by customers, and which direct competitors were providing.

Despite continued success on the race track, sales of the MGA were beginning to tail off, and in 1962, after around 100,000 cars had been produced, the MGA was dropped from the MG range. However, car that took its place was to become the most successful MG sports car ever built – the MGB.

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Friday, 28-Oct-2011

About The MGA Sports Car