100 years of MG

On the weekend of June 3 and 4, the British sports car brand MG will celebrate its 100th anniversary at the Louwman Museum.

Our own MG TC Police Car will be joined that weekend by the MGs from the MGTTO, MGCC and MGATO clubs. We expect more than 40 special examples in and in front of the museum, including the unique MG VA of MG founder Cecil Kimber.

How it started

Cecil Kimber was the founder of the car brand MG. He designed, built, and sold his first cars in 1923 under the name MG Super Sports Morris. The very first recorded sale of this MG, fitted with a body by coachbuilder Raworth, took place in August 1923. The buyer was Oliver Arkell, a member of the Arkell brewing family from Swindon, UK. The original invoice is still owned by the Early MG Society. In 1923, the first MG advertisements also appeared in newspapers and magazines.

The story actually began back in 1921, when Cecil Kimber joined the Morris Service Centre in Oxford as sales manager, the company led by the British automotive pioneer Lord Nuffield. Before long, the enthusiastic Kimber had the standard Morris Oxford cars fitted with new bodywork and a more powerful engine. At that time, the models were still equipped with the rounded bullnose radiator shell.

In 1924 Cecil Kimber became general manager and production of mainly sports cars got off to a flying start. In 1925 he won the Lands End Trial with his special Kimber Chummy Special MG. The car was given the name Old Number One, even though it was not the first MG that had been sold. This car with the registration FC 7900 is now in the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, UK.

Sales are increasing

In 1927 the Flatnose, the new distinctive MG radiator shell, was fitted to new models. During the London Motor Show the first 6 cylinder models were introduced. The company grew and in 1929 moved from Oxford to Abingdon on Thames. There production was started under the name MG Car Company. From Abingdon the well known sports cars with the octagonal emblem rolled off the production line and out into the wide world.

The brand name MG was originally an abbreviation of Morris Garages. Because sales of large cars stagnated, the company specialized in making small, affordable sports cars such as the M-Midget, which sold very successfully.

MG racers

From that period on, MG achieved many victories in the light class during races. The MG-K3 was very successful in the famous 1933 Mille Miglia, taking first and second place in the overall standings. The company logo from that time was therefore MG Safety Fast.

In the special racing department, they also produced cars for breaking speed records. In 1957, the famous driver Sterling Moss broke the existing world record on the salt flats in America with the MG EX-181. The car, equipped with a 1.5-liter engine, reached a top speed of 254 mph.

Before and after WWII

From 1935 until the Second World War, larger cars (saloons) were once again being built. Sadly, Cecil Kimber did not live to see the postwar success of "his brand MG": he was killed in a serious train accident in November 1945. Immediately after the war, production started up again with the MG-TC, the first European sports car to be exported worldwide. It became especially successful in America, where it also provided the impetus for organizing the first United States Grand Prix in Watkins Glen.

The T type series was produced until 1955. After that MG began building the MGA using the traditional method with a separate body on a ladder chassis. A total of 101081 units of this elegantly styled sports car, which was produced until 1962, were sold. The MGA was succeeded by the MGB, the first affordable sports car with a monocoque body. This became a great success worldwide. Production of this model lasted 19 years and a total of 512112 units in various versions were sold. By the end in 1980, 850,000 MGs had been produced in Abingdon. The last MGB to roll off the production line now stands in a small MG museum in Abingdon on Thames, UK.

Marque of Friendship

All over the world MG enthusiast clubs emerged that promoted and continue to promote the preservation and restoration of the MG marque. The Netherlands has three MG clubs, each with its own identity: MG Car Club Holland for all types of MGs, MG A-Type Owners Holland for owners of an MGA, and M.G. T-Type & PreWar Owners Holland for owners of MGs produced up to and including 1955. The shared motto MG the Marque of Friendship is still relevant after 100 years.

After 1980

The MG brand has changed owners as many as eight times over the past 100 years. After a period of 12 years in which no cars were built, MG restarted production in 1992 with the MG-RV8. The brand name ended up in the hands of BMW (MGF and MGTF) and the MG-Rover-Group, the last English owner. In July 2005 the brand, including the entire production line, was sold to the Chinese Nanjing Automobile Group.

After a merger with the largest Chinese car manufacturer SAIC, the MG6 came onto the market in 2001, the first production model to be exported again in large numbers all over the world. SAIC currently mainly produces electrically powered family cars and SUVs, but they are also once again working on the design of a sports car.

MG 100 years

In 2021, the MG Cyberster was presented to the world press as a concept car under the motto The Future is Arriving: a new electric sports car to celebrate MGs 100th anniversary. When production of this stunning budget electric sports car starts in 2023, MG will once again be a sports car brand with a promising future.

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