After the demise of the somewhat unsuccessful MG TF in 1955, a completely new MG appeared on the scene and one that was, in MG terms, a complete radical change from previous models, which must have come as quite a shock to the die-hard MG fan of the day. Even when the TF was revamped it left you in no doubt about its 1930’s origins. The MGA certainly was a complete departure in styling for MG cars, and with a beautiful streamlined body it was right up to the minute in terms of appearance and technical specification. The trusty old XPAG power unit had disappeared altogether and a new engine was fitted - the now familiar BMC B-series unit that had made its debut in the then recently announced MG Magnette saloon. This engine went on to power (in various forms) so many cars in the BMC range until the demise of the Abingdon factory.

An interesting piece of MGA history is that in 1951 a racing driver by the name of George Phillips drove a re-bodied TD Midget in the Le-Mans 24 hour endurance race, a car had been specially built for him by MG following his earlier successes with his own TC, a car that had been fitted with a lightweight two-seat racing styled body. So different was the appearance of his new TD racer it was difficult to believe that it was actually a TD Midget underneath. What the car was in reality was the prototype MGA, but with the old 1500cc XPAG engine and other leftovers from the TD model.

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 and fortunately for MG, they performed well, finishing fifth and sixth in their class. So when the MGA was finally announced shortly after this, it 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 two-seater open body was unmistakably a development of the earlier Philips racer design, being of the full width type with wings that blended into the bodywork to produce a beautiful aerodynamic design. From the base of the windscreen the body fell in one constant curve to the radiator grille, blending into the full swept front wings on each side.

The chassis for the MGA was a development of the TD Midget unit, but with more widely spaced side rails to facilitate a lower seating position and a new sleek looking body. This not only put the driver and passenger in a more sensible position, but it had the added advantage of lowering the centre of gravity and consequently improving its cornering ability.

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

The car was offered with bolt-on steel wheels as standard equipment, but centre-locking wire wheels were available as an optional extra, as was a removable hard-top with rigid sliding windows to replace the side screens of the soft top. Initially the engine power output was 68bhp, but this was up rated very shortly after initial production to 72bhp.

Helped by its previous competition successes 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 company’s flagging reputation.

A year after the original launch, a coupe version of the MGA was announced that 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 very civilised sports car indeed!

MGA’s continued to be made in these open-top and coupe versions until 1958 when another change in the car took place. By this time competition in the sports car market had become fierce with the Jaguar XK series, the Austin-Healey and the Triumph TR2, all aiming at grabbing as many sales as possible in what was a high growth industry of the day. The new high performance MGA Twin-Cam, although aimed at competition use rather than everyday road use, was MG’s response to the buying publics hunger for more and more engine power. Although it had very little to distinguish it visually from the other standard MGA models, apart from having special centre-locking steel wheels, there was a lot more to this car than met the eye.

The twin-cam engine was a development of the B-series unit of the standard car, but with the bottom end strengthened. The cylinder head, however, was a new aluminium unit incorporating twin overhead camshafts with twin SU carburettors fitted as standard equipment giving a power output of around 110bhp. This power increase was sufficient to propel the new car to a maximum speed of around 115mph, and comparison to other cars of the day the upgraded MGA slashed acceleration times by a considerable amount. With all this power available it was considered that the old drum brakes were no longer suitable and were replaced by disc brakes on all four wheels, quite an innovation for a car of this class and from this time in history.

Shortly after the introduction of the MGA Twin Cam, the standard cars were given a 1588cc version of the normal pushrod version of the B-series engine. The MGA 1600, as it became known, was also equipped with disc brakes on the front wheels, but continued to remain with drums at the rear, and was still offered in both open-top and coupe versions.

By 1959, the future looked promising with the Abingdon plant hard at work producing nothing but MG and Austin-Healey sports cars. The MGA was selling well the factory could barely produce them fast enough. At the time they were also busy producing the six-cylinder Austin-Healey, the Healey 3000, a model that was about to be added to with the production of a new small sports car, the Austin Healey Sprite.

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 car as his contemporaries had been in those early post war days. The MGA Twin Cam was a highly-strung thoroughbred and was easily damaged through misuse and lack of understanding. As a result it got a bad reputation, which culminated in the model being dropped from the range early in 1960.

In 1961, the MGA 1600 Mkll appeared, which had a 1622cc version of the standard B-series engine that now developed 93bhp, which was an increase of some 25bhp over the original MGA's. Other changes included new rear lights and redesigned grille with inset vertical slats. In this form the car was capable of travelling at a speed well in excess of 100mph, offering similar performance to the Twin Cam but without the delicacy and highly-strung temperament. 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 disc wheels, known as MGA 1600 MkII De Luxe. In this same year Triumph released the all new Giovanni Michelotti designed TR4, a car that offered a much more macho image and a performance level to match and which had a monocoque structure, the new way forward in car manufacture.

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.

Despite the fact that the MGA was a very good sports car, the design was getting a little long in the tooth and was not offering the level of interior comfort, which was being demanded by customers and that the 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 making way for what was to become the most successful MG sports car of all time, the MGB.