Bristol 401 Series III. The Series III cars had rear lights above and parallel to the bumpers. The body was based on a Carrozzeria Touring design and was fabricated in aluminium on a lightweight tubular chassis
Arnolt Bristol deluxe, gesehen bei der Technoclassica in Essen 2005. Der 1958 in Stahlblech-Leichtbauweise auf einem Bristol 404-Chassis gebaute Roadster ist von Bertone entworfen. 6 Zylinder, 3 Vergaser, 1971 cm³ Hubraum, 4 Gänge. Von den 142 gebauten Fahrzeugen sollen noch ~ 60 existieren, dieses wurde für 115.000 angeboten
Bristol 407. In 1961 Bristol developed the 406 by installing a 5130cc Chrysler V8 engine to create the 407
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Bristol 408 MkII. Introduced in 1965, the MkII gained a larger 5211cc V8 engine with a cast alloy gearbox
Bristol 410 1969. Introduced in 1967 the 410 evolved the 409 and was given a 5211cc V8 engine and revised grille and lighting.
Bristol Cars is the last remaining descendant that retains the original name of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, a major aircraft manufacturer that at one point employed well over 50,000 people. After the Second World War, the Car Division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company was formed, later becoming Bristol Cars Limited.
Unlike most speciality automakers, Bristol does not court publicity and has only one showroom, on Kensington High Street in London. Nevertheless, the company maintains an enthusiastic and loyal clientele.
Bristol has always been a low-volume manufacturer; the most recent published official production figures were for 1982, which stated that 104 cars were produced in that year.
The company suspended manufacturing in March 2011, when administrators were appointed and 22 staff were made redundant. In April 2011, the company was purchased by Kamkorp. Since 2011, the company has been restoring and selling all models of the marque while a new model was being developed. The company returned to the automotive business in 2015 with an all-new model, called the Bullet, initially dubbed “Project Pinnacle”. The car was first revealed to the public on 26 July 2016, and production will begin the following year.
The British aircraft industry suffered a dramatic loss of orders and great financial difficulties following the Armistice of 1918. To provide immediate employment for its considerable workforce, the Bristol Aeroplane Company undertook the manufacture of a light car (the Bristol Monocar), the construction of car bodies for Armstrong Siddeley and bus bodies for their sister company, Bristol Tramways.
On the outbreak of World War II, Sir George Stanley White, managing director of the Bristol Aeroplane Company from 1911–1954, was determined not to suffer the same difficulties a second time. The company now employed 70,000 and he knew he must plan for the time when the voracious wartime demand for Bristol aircraft and aircraft engines would suddenly end. The company began working with AFN Ltd, makers of Frazer Nash cars and British importer of BMWs before the war, on plans for a joint venture in automotive manufacture.
As early as 1941, a number of papers were written or commissioned by George S. M. White, Sir Stanley’s son, proposing a post-war car manufacturing division. It was decided to purchase an existing manufacturer for this purpose. Alvis, Aston Martin, Lagonda, ERA and Lea-Francis were considered.
Beginning
A chance discussion took place in May 1945, between D. A. Aldington, a director of Frazer Nash then serving as an inspector for the wartime Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP), and Eric Storey, an assistant of George White at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It led to the immediate take-over of Frazer Nash by the Aeroplane Company.
Aldington and his two brothers had marketed the Fraser Nash BMW before the war, and proposed to build an updated version after demobilisation. This seemed the perfect match for the aeroplane company’s own ambitions to manufacture a high quality sports car. With the support of the War Reparations Board, H. J. Aldington travelled to Munich and purchased the rights to manufacture three BMW models and the 328 engine.
By July 1945, BAC had created a car division and bought a controlling stake in AFN. A factory was established at Filton Aerodrome, near Bristol.
George White and Reginald Verdon-Smith of the Aeroplane Company joined the new Frazer Nash Board, but in January 1947, soon after the first cars had been produced, differences between the Aldingtons and Bristol led to the resale of Frazer Nash. The Bristol Car Division became an independent entity.
Independence
Bristol Cars was sold after its parent joined with other British aircraft companies in 1960 to create the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), which later became part of British Aerospace.
The car division originally merged with Bristol Siddeley Engines, and was marked for closure, but was bought in September 1960 by George S.M. White the chairman and effective founder. White retained the direction of the company, but sold a forty per cent shareholding to Tony Crook, a leading Bristol agent. Crook became sole distributor.
New ownership
In September 1969, only a month before the unveiling of the new Bristol 411 at the Earl’s Court Motor Show, Sir George White (as he had become) suffered a serious accident in his Bristol 410. The car was only superficially damaged, but he suffered severe trauma.
As time passed it became clear that he would never regain his health sufficiently to return to full-time work. To safeguard the future of his workforce, he decided in 1973 to sell his majority shareholding to Crook. As the ties with the White family were severed, British Aerospace (successors to the Bristol Aeroplane Company) requested the company to move its factory from Filton Aerodrome and it found new premises in nearby Patchway. The showroom on Kensington High Street became the head office, with Crook shuttling between the two in Bristol’s light aircraft.
Under Crook’s direction the company produced at least six types, the names of which were largely borrowed from Bristol’s distinguished aeronautical past: the Beaufighter, Blenheim, Britannia and Brigand.
End of the second era
In February 1997, Crook, then aged 77, sold a fifty per cent holding in Bristol Cars to Toby Silverton, with an option to take full control within four years. Silverton, then son-in-law of Joe Lewis of the Tavistock Group and son of Arthur Silverton of Overfinch, joined the board with his father.
Crook and Toby Silverton produced the Speedster, Bullet and 411 Series 6, though 2002 saw the transfer of Bristol Cars fully into the ownership of Silverton and the Tavistock Group, with Silverton in the chair and Crook remaining as managing director. Together they developed a two-seater V10 named after the first Sir George White’s world-famous First World War two-seater aircraft, the Bristol Fighter.
Crook finally relinquished his connection with Bristol Cars in August 2007. In March 2011, it was announced that Bristol Cars had been placed into administration. Rescue came in April 2011, in the form of Frazer-Nash Research.
Pre-war BMW designs, Aldington brothers and early cars
HJ Aldington, a director of the Bristol Aeroplane Company affiliated AFN (BMW’s pre-war concessionaire in the UK), used his British Army connections to visit the bombed BMW factory in Munich several times post-war. In 1945 he took plans for BMW cars back to Britain, and BMW chief engineer, Dr. Fritz Fiedler was also employed. Its first car was the Bristol 400, prototyped in 1946 and introduced at the 1947 Geneva Motor Show. Derived from immediately pre-WW2 BMW products (thanks to a connection to BMW through Frazer Nash), the chassis was based on the BMW 326, the engine on the 328, and the body on the 327. Even a variation on the famous double-kidney BMW grille was retained. Bristol, however, did a thorough examination of the car’s handling and ended up with performance “only matched by outright purpose-built competition cars”. Seven hundred of the Bristol 400 were built, 17 of which received “handsome” drophead bodywork from Pininfarina.
In 1949, the 400 was joined by the five-place 401. Bodied by Touring, it was aerodynamically sleeker, accelerated better, and had higher top speed. It was joined by the drophead 402, of which just 24 examples were built.
The 403 followed in 1953, which featured improved brakes, gearbox, dampers, heater, and engine (a detuned racing motor, in fact). Bristol would use this same engine in the
450, entered at Le Mans in 1953; it broke its experimental crankshaft, but despite being less than aerodynamically ideal proved fully five seconds a lap quicker than the competition. Bristol withdrew from racing two years later.
Along with the 403 was the
Bristol 404 two door saloon at the Adelaide Botanic GardensBristol 405 four-door saloon
404, on a shorter wheelbase, with a more powerful engine and styling reminiscent of the 450. The 404 introduced a concealed front wing-mounted spare wheel and battery. It was built to extremely exacting standards, and the price reflected it; this, plus newly introduced “punitive taxation”, meant only 40 were produced.
Bristol’s traditional wing-mounted spare wheel on a Bristol 410
The 405, which entered production in 1954, was much more successful, not least for being Bristol’s only four-door. It remained in production until 1958, with 297 saloons and 43 drophead coupés produced in all.
Bristol debuted the
406 in 1958, and it remained in production until 1961.
V8 cars
The 406’s replacement, the 407, was powered by a 5.2 litre V8 provided by Chrysler of Canada.
It was followed in 1963 by the
408, with drastic restyling as well as improved suspension. This was succeeded by the409. Many buyers preferred the crisp steering and gearbox of the earlier six-cylinder cars.The 410, introduced in 1966, was a return to the high-performance touring tradition, offering the same top speed as the 409, and superior acceleration, with the same powerplant. It also saw Bristol become a private company and marked a return to quality to the exclusion of output: no more than three cars a week were to be made.
In 1969, the Bristol 411 appeared, with a new 6.2 litre Chrysler V8 (still rebuilt and modified by Bristol, as before) delivering higher top speed and even better acceleration.
Until 1961, all Bristol cars used Bristol-built derivatives of the BMW M328 2-litre six-cylinder engine. These engines also powered a number of sports and racing cars, including all post-war Frazer Nashes (apart from a few prototypes), some ACs, some Lotus and Cooper racing cars, and several others.
In 1961, with the launch of the Bristol 407, the company switched to larger Chrysler V8 engines, which were more suitable for the increasingly heavy cars. All post-1961 Bristols, including the later Blenheim and Fighter models, used Chrysler engines.
Kamkorp era (2011–)
Administration and purchase
On 3 March 2011 it was announced that Bristol Cars had gone into administration, with the immediate loss of 22 jobs.[18] On 21 April 2011 the company was purchased by Kamkorp, which also owns Frazer-Nash Research, a manufacturer of electric vehicles. The acquisition could thus be presented as a reunion of two great names of British motoring, despite there being no connection with the original Frazer Nash car company.
Bristol Bullet
Bristol Bullet and a Bristol 405 Drophead coupé on display at Salon Prive’
In 2014 Bristol Cars announed the development of a new model codenamed “Project Pinnacle”. Initial reports indicated it would be a petrol-electric hybrid with a petrol engine from BMW. However a later media report and a May 2015 press release indicated that the car would have non-hybrid V8 power.
2016 Bristol Bullet
The car, a 2-seater roadster, made its first public appearance, slightly camouflaged, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June 2016. In July the car was shown undisguised, technical details were announced, and its name given as Bristol Bullet. It is powered by a normally aspirated BMW V8 engine of 4.8 litres and 370 bhp driving the rear wheels, has a body of carbon fibre, weighs 1130 kg, and will cost £250,000. The planned production run is 70. The company states that the car is a precursor of future range-extender electric vehicles.
MG is a British automotive marque registered by the now defunct MG Car Company Limited, a British sports car manufacturer begun in the 1920s as a sales promotion sideline within W R Morris’s Oxford city retail sales and service business by the business’s manager, Cecil Kimber. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés. Kimber was an employee of William Morris; MG are the initials for Morris Garages.
The MG business was Morris’s personal property until 1 July 1935 when he sold MG to his holding company, Morris Motors Limited, restructuring his holdings before issuing (preference) shares in Morris Motors to the public in 1936. MG underwent many changes in ownership starting with Morris merging with Austin in The British Motor Corporation Limited in 1952. MG became the MG Division of BMC in 1967 and so a component of the 1968 merger that created British Leyland Motor Corporation. By the start of 2000 MG was part of the MG Rover Group which entered receivership in 2005 and the assets and the MG brand were purchased by Nanjing Automobile Group (which merged into SAIC in 2008) for GB£53 million. Production restarted in 2007 in China, and later at Longbridge plant in the UK under the current manufacturer MG Motor. The first all-new model from MG in the UK for 16 years, the MG 6, was officially launched on 26 June 2011.
Overview
The original MG marque was in continuous use, except for the duration of the Second World War, for 56 years following its inception in 1923. The production of predominantly two-seater sports cars was concentrated at a factory in Abingdon, some 10 miles (16 km) south of Oxford. The British Motor Corporation (BMC) competition department was also based at the Abingdon plant, producing many winning rally and race cars, until the Abingdon factory closed and MGB production ceased in the Autumn of 1980.
Between 1982 and 1991, the MG marque used to badge-engineer sportier versions of Austin Rover’sMetro, Maestro, and Montego ranges. The MG marque was not revived in its own right until 1992, with the MG RV8 – an updated MGB Roadster with a Rover V8 engine, which was previewed at the 1992 Birmingham Motor Show, with low-volume production commencing in 1993.
A second revival came in the summer of 1995, when the high-volume MG F two-seater roadster was launched.
The MG marque, along with the Rover marque, went to the MG Rover group in May 2000, when BMW “broke up” the Rover Group. This arrangement had the return of MG badges on sportier Rover-based cars such as the MG ZT in 2001, along with a revised MG F model, known as the MG TF, launched in 2002; however, all production ceased in April 2005 when MG Rover went into administration.
The assets of MG Rover were bought by Chinese carmaker Nanjing Automobile in July 2005, subsequently bought by SAIC in December 2007, which now operate a UK subsidiary, MG Motor.
History
The Morris Garage
Morris’s 1910 building on his site in Longwall Street, Oxford
The company’s name supposedly originated from the initials of Morris Garages, W R Morris’s (Lord Nuffield’s) original retail sales and service business in Longwall Street, Oxford, when the business’s manager, Cecil Kimber, began promoting sales by producing his own versions. Kimber had joined the company as its sales manager in 1921. He was promoted to general manager in 1922, a position he held until 1941, when he fell out with Lord Nuffield over procuring wartime work. Kimber died in 1945 in a railway accident. The site of the garages was redeveloped in 1980, retaining the original frontage, and is now used as student accommodation by New College.
Debate remains as to when the MG Car Company started, although the first cars bore both Morris and MG badges, in addition to reference to MG with the octagon badge appears in an Oxford newspaper from November 1923, the MG Octagon was registered as a trademark by Morris Garages on the 1 May 1924, with its 90th anniversary being widely celebrated in 2014. Others dispute this and believe that MG only properly began trading in 1925. The explanation may lie in the distinction between the MG business and the company of that name which may have come to own it later.
1935 MG NB Magnette Airline coupé
The first cars which were rebodied Morris models used coachwork from Carbodies of Coventry and were built in premises in Alfred Lane, Oxford. Demand soon caused a move to larger premises in Bainton Road in September 1925, sharing space with the Morris radiator works. Continuing expansion meant another move in 1927 to a separate factory in Edmund Road, Cowley, Oxford, near the main Morris factory and for the first time it was possible to include a production line. In 1928, the company had become large enough to warrant an identity separate from the original Morris Garages and the M.G. Car Company Limited was established in March of that year, and in October for the first time a stand was taken at the London Motor Show. Space again soon ran out and a search for a permanent home led to the lease of part an old leather factory in Abingdon, Oxfordshire in 1929, gradually taking over more space until production ended there in 1980. The MG Car Club was founded in 1930 for owners and enthusiasts of MG cars.
Nuffield Organisation
Originally owned personally by William Morris, MG was sold in 1935 to Morris Motors (itself a member of the Morris Organizations later called the Nuffield Organisation), a change that was to have serious consequences for MG, particularly its motor-sport activities.
Following partial nationalisation in 1975, BLMC became British Leyland (later just BL). British Leyland’s management and engineering staff were predominantly from the former Leyland organization, which included MG’s historical close rival Triumph. Triumph was grouped into BL’s Specialist Division, alongside Rover and Jaguar, while MG was retained with the other former BMC marques in the Austin-Morris Division which otherwise made mass-production family cars. While new Triumph models such as the TR7 and the Dolomite were launched during the ‘Seventies no new MG models were introduced apart from the limited-production V8 version of the MGB. While the MG operations was profitable these profits were entirely offset by the huge losses accrued by the rest of the Austin-Morris division and any funding to the Division within BL was allocated to urgently required mass market models, leaving MG with limited resources to develop and maintain its existing model range, which became increasingly outdated. Amidst a mix of economic, internal and external politics, the Abingdon factory was shut down on 24 October 1980 as part of the drastic programme of cutbacks necessary to turn BL around after the turbulent times of the 1970s. The last car to be built there was the MGB, and after the closure of the Abingdon plant, the MG marque was temporarily abandoned.
Though many plants were closed, none created such an uproar among workers, dealers, clubs, and customers as this closure did. Years later, Sir Michael Edwardes expressed regret about his decision.
In 1982, the marque was revived and the Austin Rover Group built high-performance versions of their saloon and hatchback models built at Longbridge (Metro) or Cowley (Maestro and Montego). The MG Metro continued until 1990, with the Maestro and Montego versions being suspended a year later.
BAe then BMW
In 1995, the MG F became the first all-new MG since the MGB
After BL became the Rover Group in 1986, ownership of the MG marque passed to British Aerospace in 1988 and then in 1994 to BMW. The MG name was revived in 1993 with the launch of the MG RV8, followed by the mid-engined MG F in 1995.
MG Rover
BMW sold the business in 2000 and the MG marque passed to the MG Rover Group based in Longbridge, Birmingham. The practice of selling unique MG sports cars alongside badge-engineered models (by now Rovers) continued. The Group went into receivership in 2005 and car production was suspended on 7 April 2005. As of 2003, the site of the former Abingdon factory was host to McDonald’s and the Thames Valley Police with only the former office block still standing. The headquarters of the MG Car Club (established 1930) is situated next door.
In 2006, it was reported that an initiative called Project Kimber, led by David James, had entered talks with Nanjing to buy the MG brand to produce a range of sports cars based on the discontinued Smart Roadster design by DaimlerChrysler. No agreement was reached, which resulted in the AC Cars marque being adopted for the new model, instead. As of 2009, the project appears to be dormant.
MG Motor
MG Motor UK HQ – SAIC UK Technical & Design Centre
On 22 July 2005, the Nanjing Automobile Group purchased the rights to the MG brand and the assets of the MG Rover Group (except the production line for the ZS model) for £53 million, creating a new company called NAC MG UK. This was later renamed MG Motor, after the merge of Nanjing Automobile with Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation (SAIC). In 2011, MG launched a new model, the MG 6 in GT (hatchback) and Magnette (saloon) versions which became the first new-generation MG available in the UK since the MG TF. The MG range is now sold in China, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, South Africa and the United Kingdom, availability of models depending on market.
The first all-new model from MG for 16 years, the MG 6, was officially launched on 26 June 2011 during a visit to MG Motor’s Longbridge plant by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
By March 2012, SAIC had invested a total of £450 million in MG Motor. Sales in the UK totalled 782 vehicles in 2012. The new MG 3 went on sale in the United Kingdom in September 2013.
MG Motor was voted third place for the ‘Best Manufacturer’ category in the Auto Express 2014 Driver Power survey. MG celebrated its 90th birthday in 2014, and enjoyed further celebrations with a record-breaking year that had the company lead UK car-industry growth in 2014. The MG brand’s sales rose by 361% during 2014 thanks in part to the introduction of the MG 3 to the product range.
Car models
The earliest model, the 1924 MG 14/28 consisted of a new sporting body on a Morris Oxford chassis. This car model continued through several versions following the updates to the Morris. The first car which can be described as a new MG, rather than a modified Morris was the MG 18/80 of 1928 which had a purpose designed chassis and the first appearance of the traditional vertical MG grille. A smaller car was launched in 1929 with the first of a long line of Midgets starting with the M-Type based on a 1928 Morris Minor chassis. MG established a name for itself in the early days of the sport of international automobile racing. Beginning before and continuing after World War II, MG produced a line of cars known as the T-Series Midgets which, post-war, were exported worldwide, achieving greater success than expected. These included the MG TC, MG TD, and MG TF, all of which were based on the pre-war MG TB, and updated with each successive model.
MG departed from its earlier line of Y-Type saloons and pre-war designs and released the MGA in 1955. The MGB was released in 1962 to satisfy demand for a more modern and comfortable sports car. In 1965 the fixed head coupé (FHC) followed: the MGB GT. With continual updates, mostly to comply with increasingly stringent United States emissions and safety standards, the MGB was produced until 1980. Between 1967 and 1969 a short-lived model called the MGC was released. The MGC was based on the MGB body, but with a larger (and, unfortunately, heavier) six-cylinder engine, and somewhat worse handling. MG also began producing the MG Midget in 1961. The Midget was a re-badged and slightly restyled second-generation Austin-Healey Sprite. To the dismay of many enthusiasts, the 1974 MGB was the last model made with chrome bumpers due to new United States safety regulations; the 1974½ bore thick black rubber bumpers that some claimed ruined the lines of the car. In 1973, the MGB GT V8 was launched with the ex-BuickRover V8 engine and was built until 1976. As with the MGB, the Midget design was frequently modified until the Abingdon factory closed in October 1980 and the last of the range was made. The badge was also applied to versions of BMC saloons including theBMC ADO16, which was also available as a Riley, but with the MG pitched as slightly more “sporty”.
The marque lived on after 1980 under BL, being used on a number of Austin saloons including theMetro,Maestro, andMontego. In New Zealand, the MG badge even appeared on the late 1980s Montego estate, called the MG 2.0 Si Wagon. There was a brief competitive history with a mid-engined, six-cylinder version of the Metro. The MG Metro finished production in 1990 on the launch of a Rover-only model. The MG Maestro and MG Montego remained on sale until 1991, when production of these models was pruned back in order for Rover to concentrate on the more modern 200 Series and 400 Series. High performance Rover Metro, 200 and 400 GTi models had gone on sale in late 1989 and throughout 1990 as the MG version of the Metro was discontinued in 1990 and the versions of the Maestro and Montego were axed in 1991.
The Rover Group revived the two-seater with theMG RV8 in 1992. The all-new MGF went on sale in 1995, becoming the first mass-produced “real” MG sports car since the MGB ceased production in 1980.
Following the May 2000 purchase of the MG and Rover brands by the Phoenix Consortium and the forming of the new MG Rover Group, the MG range was expanded in the summer of 2001 with the introduction of three sports models based on the contemporary range of Rover cars. TheMG ZR was based on the Rover 25, the MG ZS on the Rover 45, and the MG ZT/ZT-T on the Rover 75.
The MG Rover Group purchased Qvale, which had taken over development of the De Tomaso Bigua. This car, renamed theQvale Mangusta and already approved for sale in the United States, formed the basis of the MG XPower SV, an “extreme” V8-engined sports car. It was revealed in 2002 and went on sale in 2004.
Motorsport
From its earliest days MGs have been used in competition and from the early 1930s a series of dedicated racing cars such as the 1931 C-Type and 1934 Q-type were made and sold to enthusiasts who received considerable company assistance. This stopped in 1935 when MG was formally merged with Morris Motors and the Competition Department closed down. A series of experimental cars had also been made allowing Captain George Eyston to take several world speed records. In spite of the formal racing ban, speed record attempts continued with Goldie Gardner exceeding 200 mph (320 km/h) in the 1100 cc EX135 in 1939.
After World War II record breaking attempts restarted with 500 cc and 750 cc records being taken in the late 1940s. A decision was also taken to return to racing and a team of MGAs was entered in the tragedy-laden 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans race, the best car achieving 12th place.
Prior to the use of the Toyota Tundra silhouette in the Craftsman Truck Series, MG was reported as the last foreign brand to be used in NASCAR. It was driven in 1963 by Smokey Cook.
In 2001 MG re-launched their motor sport campaign to cover the 24 Hours of Le Mans (MG-Lola EX257), British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) (MG ZS), British and World Rally Championships and MG Independent British Rally Championship (MG ZR). The Le Mans team failed to win the endurance race in 2001 and 2002 and quit in 2003. MG Sport+Racing raced in the British Touring Car Championships with the MG ZS between 2001 and 2003 as a factory team. In 2004 WSR raced the MG ZS as a privateer team. After three years without a major sponsor, WSR teamed up with RAC in 2006 and the team was called Team RAC. In 2007 an MG ZR driven by BRC Stars Champion Luke Pinder won class N1 on Britain’s round of the World Rally championship. Wales Rally GB. The MG British Rally Challenge still runs today despite the liquidation in 2005.
In 2004 plans to race in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) with a heavily modified V8 powered ZT supertouring car were cancelled due to MG Rover’s liquidation in April 2005.
MG / Triple Eight British Touring Cars 2012 – 2014.
The team returned in 2013 with Sam Tordoff driving, who performed well in his debut year having joined through the KX Academy scheme. Plato once again came third, with Tordoff sixth.
MG won the 2014 Manufacturer’s Championship to break Honda’s four-year reign. After just three years of competition, the MG6 GT sealed the title by 95 points at the season finale at Brands Hatch. Drivers Plato and Tordoff racked up seven wins and 20 podiums in the 30-race calendar. Plato finished the Driver’s Championship in second place, behind Colin Turkington, while Tordoff finished seventh. The 2014 season also saw a third MG6 GT was on the grid, driven by Marc Hynes. Also maintained by Triple Eight but in a new livery which didn’t resemble the other two MG cars. MG came second in the Constructors Championship in 2015, with Andrew Jordan leading the MG team by finishing the season fifth.
List of models
The (1954) MG TF is the last traditional MG
The MG TF was “the last of the traditionally-styled MGs”, with a wood-framed body, separate wings, and running boards.
The MG MGB
MG MGB GT. The “winter appeal” of the MGB was widened with the arrival of the “GT” in 1965.
MG MGB GT.
The MG MGB.
For 1975 Larger wheels raised the car slightly which with new bumpers ensured compliance with increasingly prescriptive safety requirements in (primarily, at this stage) the US.
The MG Rover owners club was set up to preserve the Marque (www.mgr-forums.com)
^ Jump up to:abcCulshaw, David; Horrobin, Peter (2013) [1974]. “MG”. The complete catalogue of British Cars 1895 – 1975 (Paperback ed.). Poundbury, Dorchester, UK: Veloce Publishing. pp. 212–213. ISBN978-1-874105-93-0. Retrieved 2013-12-06. The TC Midget was … announced in 1945, and its successor, the TD of 1950, though at first received with horror by enthusiasts on account of its specification, which actually included independent front suspension and even bumpers, is now … revered and sought after…. The last of the traditionally-styled MGs, the TF, came in 1953 and was built in both 11⁄4– and 11⁄2– litre form.
Following the collapse of MG Rover in 2005, the Chinese automaker Nanjing Automobile acquired the Longbridge plant and the MG marque for GB£53 million (US$97 million). Nanjing Automobile formally established NAC MG UK Limited as a holding company for the plant and marque on 12 April 2006. In March 2007, Nanjing Automobile unveiled the first MG vehicles manufactured in China, the MG TF, MG 3 and MG 7.
Assembly of cars restarted at Longbridge in August 2007, with production of the MG TF LE500.
In 2007, Nanjing Automobile was acquired by SAIC Motor, and in early 2009 NAC MG UK Limited was renamed MG Motor UK Limited.
The first all-new model from MG for 16 years, the MG6, was officially launched on 26 June 2011 during a visit to MG Motor’s Longbridge plant by Chinese premier Wen Jiabao. This car was imported briefly into the UK, but it was not a sales success and was withdrawn from sale in 2016.
By March 2012, SAIC had invested a total of £450 million in MG Motor. Sales in the UK totalled 782 vehicles in 2012.
The MG3 went on sale in the United Kingdom in September 2013.
MG Motor was voted third place for the ‘Best Manufacturer’ category in the Auto Express 2014 Driver Power survey. 2014 also saw MG celebrated its 90th birthday. MG enjoyed further celebrations with a record-breaking year that saw the company lead UK car industry growth in 2014. The brand’s sales rose by 361% during 2014 part thanks to the introduction of the MG3 to the product range, with a total of 2,326 cars sold in the UK.
Operations
MG Motor UK HQ – SAIC UK Technical & Design Centre.
MG Piccadilly
MG Motor operates the historic Longbridge plant. Currently the majority of MG vehicles sold in Europe are principally manufactured in China before being shipped to Longbridge as semi-knock-down kits for final assembly. There is also a major research and development facility at the Longbridge site which employs around 500 people.
MG announced in 2015 that it will open a GB£30million flagship dealership in the heart of London’s Piccadilly. MG Piccadilly opened in July 2015. Its location is 47-48 Piccadilly, London(opposite Fortnum & Mason).
Products
Current
Currently the majority of MG vehicles are principally manufactured in China. For the UK market, vehicles are shipped to Longbridge for final assembly. Since the merger of NAC with SAIC, some MG models have Roewe-badged equivalents.
The MG GS is MG’s first production SUV launched in 2015, with sales in the UK commencing June 2016. The MG GS starts at £14995, with a 1.5 liter turbo petrol engine delivering 166 PS and 250NM Torque. The top of the range model also comes with the option of a 7 speed automatic transmission.
The MG 6 hatchback was announced in April 2009. It is based on the Roewe 550.
The MG6 went on sale in Europe in May 2011. The model is assembled at Longbridge using complete knock-down kits produced in China.
The MG6 GT received mixed reviews, although the initial one engine choice (1.8 litre petrol) received some criticism. A 1.9 diesel engine was added in December 2012. It has also had mixed reviews from some in the media as regards the quality of the lower dash plastics though reviewers say the drive and handling make up for it.
A saloon version of the MG6, the MG6 Magnette, went on sale in July 2011 after making its debut in June 2011.
The MG6 won the What Car? 2012 Security Award. In the Auto Express Driver Power survey in 2014 it won the ‘Best Handling Award’ and came 6th overall in the ‘Best Car to Own’ category. In 2016 the MG6 won 3 awards: Auto Express Driver Power Best Family Car Bronze Winner, Auto Express Driver Power Road Handling Silver Winner and The Caravan Club Tow Car of the year class winner under £17500.
The MG6 Facelift was launched in 2015, with an updated look, improved interior design including EPB. Enhancements were also made including a 75 kg (165 lb) reduction in weight to assist in reducing the emissions and improving fuel economy.
The MG6 was withdrawn from sale in the UK in 2016.
The MG 5 was originally unveiled at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show as a concept model. It is a FordFocus sized hatchback using the same base as the Roewe 350. It was released for sale in China in 2012 but has never been exported to the UK.
In 2010, MG unveiled the all new MG 3, which was shown in concept car form as the MG Zero. The car was initially launched in China with a choice of 1.3L or 1.5L petrol engines, and underwent a facelift in 2013, with sales in the UK following in September 2013.
During 2014 MG Motor UK was the fastest growing brand in Britain as shown by official figures issued by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Currently MG has the fastest growing network of dealers in the UK.
The MG3 was voted the 10th ‘Best Car To Own’ in the Auto Express Driver Power survey 2015.
Concepts
MG Icon
MG unveiled the MG Icon concept car at the Beijing Auto Show in 2012.
The MG CS concept car on display at Auto Shanghai 2013
The MG CS is a SUV concept that was unveiled at the Shanghai Motor Show 2013. The CS previews MG’s first production SUV. The design team was led by MG’s Global Design Director, Anthony Williams-Kenny.
MG EV
The MG EV concept car was unveiled in 2014 based on the Roewe E50 to celebrate the marque’s 90th anniversary. The EV has a claimed acceleration 0-50 kph – 5.3 seconds and 0–100 km/h – 14.6 seconds with a top speed – 130 km/h. The LFP battery generates 52 kW and working in conjunction with the regenerative braking system enables a range of over 100 km. The battery retains more than 80% capacity after 2,000 charging cycles, equivalent to approximately ten years of typical use. The battery takes six hours to fully charge on a standard charge (220–240V), while a fast charge (380–400V) takes just 30 minutes.
MG EV.
MG3 Trophy
MG unveiled the MG3 Trophy Championship concept car at the MG90 event at Silverstone in June 2014.
The MG3 Trophy Championship concept, based on the current MG3 production vehicle platform and created to highlight in-house engineering, design and calibration capabilities by SMTC UK at Longbridge, continues the MG tradition of club racing.
MG3 Trophy.
The racing concept was created solely by a team of engineers, managed by Vehicle Engineering Specialist Adrian Guyll, and based at SAIC Motor’s European Design and Technical Centre (SMTC), located alongside MG Motor UK at the Longbridge site in Birmingham.
The MG TF brand was relaunched in Britain during 2007. An updated MG TF model produced in a limited edition of 500, called the TF LE500, was assembled at the Longbridge plant by NAC MG UK. This was followed by a TF 135 model and a further limited edition TF 85th Anniversary, of which only 50 were produced. Production of the TF at Longbridge was suspended again in October 2009 and finally ended in March 2011. MG have said that they will first concentrate on building passenger cars, and have not given a release date for the TF’s successor.
The team returned in 2013 with Sam Tordoff driving, who performed well in his debut year having joined through the KX Academy scheme. Plato once again came third, with Tordoff sixth.
MG / Triple Eight British Touring Cars 2016.
In 2014, MG won the Manufacturer’s Championship to break Honda’s four-year reign. After just three years of competition, the MG6 GT sealed the title by 95 points at the season finale at Brands Hatch.
Drivers Plato and Tordoff racked up seven wins and 20 podiums in the 30-race calendar. Plato finished the Driver’s Championship in second place, behind Colin Turkington, while Tordoff finished seventh. The 2014 season also saw a third MG6 GT was on the grid, driven by Marc Hynes. Also maintained by Triple Eight but in a new livery which didn’t resemble the other two MG cars. Hynes finished his debut season in 18th.
For the 2015 campaign MG fought to regain the Manufacturers / Constructors title with a new driver line up. 2013 Champion Andrew Jordan and young gun Jack Goff pair up in the MG6 to fight against Honda, BMW and Infiniti for the title. MG finished 2nd in the Manufacturers / Constructors title challenge, with Andrew and Jack in 5th and 9th respectively in the drivers standings.
MG announce a new three-year contract extension with Triple Eight Racing for the 2016 BTCC campaign. The team plan was to bring in young and up-and-coming drivers with an intention to grow its own champion over the duration of the contract. Josh Cook, a former 2014 Renault UK Clio Cup Vice-Champion, and BTCC 2015 Jack Sears Trophy winner(award for the top rookie) and Ashley Sutton, graduating to BTCC after leaving the Renault Clio Cup as reigning 2015 champion, were announced as the new line up for MG.
Stanley H. Arnolt (bekend als “Wacky Arnolt“) was een Amerikaanse zakenman. Hij is in de autowereld bekend geworden doordat hij onder eigen naam auto’s met een Bertone carrosserie op de markt bracht.
Hij verkocht in de periode 1953 tot 1968 auto’s op basis van verschillende Engelse modellen. Hij liet de auto’s ontwerpen en bouwen door Bertone in Italië. De auto’s waren vooral bestemd voor de Amerikaanse markt.
SH Arnolt Inc. of Chicago and Warsaw Indiana sold four different manufacturer’s cars with Bertone bodies during the period 1953 to 1968.
Stanley H. “Wacky” Arnolt was a Chicago industrialist, who began importing foreign cars in the 1950s to the United States. Though sold as American cars, the cars were true hybrids, with British mechanicals, Italian bodywork, and U.S. sales and distribution, as well as in some cases final assembly and body work. SH Arnolt Inc. was a licensed automobile manufacturer in the State of Illinois.
A fortuitous meeting with Bertone at the Turin Auto Show in 1952 resulted in four collaborative efforts between Arnolt and Bertone.
Arnolt-MG
1955 Arnolt-MG
1955 Arnolt-MG
The first was the Arnolt-MG, a four-seater Bertone-bodied car based on the MG TD chassis and XPAG 54hp engine. The Arnolt MG was designed by Giovanni Bertone, his son Nuccio, and Giovanni Michelotti. Of a planned production of 200 cars, 103 have been documented as built between 1953 and 1954 (67 coupes and 36 convertibles). Out of this total, the whereabouts of 36 are unknown and three are known to have been scrapped (as of 1993).
The initial price was $3145. In 1954, MG informed Arnolt that it could no longer supply chassis and engines due to demand for its own complete cars (as well as the replacement of the TD by the TF), so Arnolt began looking for a larger-engined car.
Arnolt Aston
An attempt to build a Bertone-bodied Aston Martin DB2/4 and sell it as an Arnolt Aston was stopped by Aston Martin after three cars were built. There were three Arnolt Astons designed by Bertone’s fresh new designer – Franco Scaglione (chassis numbers LML50/502, LML 50/505 and LML 50/507). All looked very much like Scaglione’s subsequent Arnolt Bristol, having sharply creased fender lines, and were open cars without hardtops. There were four additional Bertone Astons that were commissioned at Arnolt’s request and went through Arnolt’s hands. These four cars are sometimes mistakenly referred to as Arnolt Astons, but are not. These were 3 roadsters and 1 coupe. All of the seven Arnolt Astons still exist. One article refers to a possible eighth car, perhaps destroyed in the Chicago fire at Arnolt’s factory. The cars were fitted with Aston’s 125 hp, 2580 cc engine.
I owned LML 762, the last Arnolt Aston Martin manufactured, for 14 years, 1974 – 1988. Contrary to what is written above it was a TRUE Arnolt Aston Martin. In fact, it was the ONLY car of the 7 or 8 that had an Arnolt Aston Martin Badge. Any of the other cars that had a badge was identified only as an Arnolt. The Arnolt Aston Martin badge has since been copied and can be found on LML 504. The cars were not manufactured in chassis sequence number. The FIRST car built was LML 504, NOT any of the Arnolt-Bristol lookalikes, 502, 505 or 507. The Aston Martin Owner’s registry showed that 8 chassis were delivered to Bertone. It was my article that suggested that 8 cars in total were manufactured; this was confirmed by employees at Arnolt’s factory in Warsaw Indiana. Finally, while 502, 505 and 507 were originally fitted with the 2.5 liter engine, all were converted to the more powerful 3 liter engine before being sold. I personally inspected three of the other cars, LML 504, 506 and 765, and had extensive correspondence with the owner of 505.
Arnolt’s Bentley
Arnolt Bentley
Arnolt also had Bertone design and build a Bentley, which resembles a larger version of the Arnolt MG coupe because it was also penned by Giovanni Michelotti who was working for Bertone at the time. This car was commissioned for SH Arnolt as a personal car. Bertone built the body on a 1953 R Type Continental chassis. The car was fitted with monogrammed flasks and glasses, and a special cosmetics compartment for Mrs. Arnolt. The car was originally painted gold and fitted with tan hides.
Arnolt Bristol
1954 Arnolt-Bristol
Arnolt then negotiated with Bristol Cars Ltd in the UK for the purchase of 200 of their 404 series chassis and 1971 cc, six-cylinder 130 hp engines. According to an article by Wouter Melissen Arnolt needed to find a new chassis source to meet his obligation to Bertone, in whom he had invested heavily, after MG proved unable to fill the original order for 200 cars. The chassis Bristol supplied were sent to Carrozzeria Bertone where they received a highly aerodynamic body with a flowing design that allowed the minimal hood height to clear the cars’ three single barrel Solex 32 carburetors. The bodies were designed by Bertone’s new designer/aerodynamicist, Franco Scaglione (soon to be famous as the designer of the
Alfa Romeo B.A.T. concept cars). The very tall Bristol engine created problems for designing a sleek-looking sports car. Franco Scaglione handled these with particular genius – first by incorporating a hood scoop to lower the surrounding sheet metal, and then by incorporating sharply creased fender lines out over the wheels to draw the eye’s attention away from the unusually tall peak in the hood. A few design changes were requested by SH Arnolt.
Arnolt created a racing team for the Sebring 12-hour race, and in 1955, at their first attempt, the special lightweight cars finished first, second and fourth in the Sports 2000 class. The following year they took second and third in class. In 1957 the team withdrew after Bob Goldich’s fatal accident on the first lap of his first stint in the car co-driven by Wacky Arnolt, while a privately entered Arnolt Bristol finished fifth in class. 1960 brought a final class win, the team placing 14th, 22d and 39th overall.
Arnolt Bristol deluxe, gesehen bei der Technoclassica in Essen 2005. Der 1958 in Stahlblech-Leichtbauweise auf einem Bristol 404-Chassis gebaute Roadster ist von Bertone entworfen. 6 Zylinder, 3 Vergaser, 1971 cm³ Hubraum, 4 Gänge. Von den 142 gebauten Fahrzeugen sollen noch ~ 60 existieren, dieses wurde für 115.000 angeboten
Arnolt Bristol deluxe (1958)
The cars were available in four body styles: competition—a stripped road racer; bolide—a slightly better-appointed road racer; deluxe—a better-appointed version of the bolide (side windows and convertible top, instruments mounted in a housing in front of the driver, glove box set in the dash); and coupé, with pop-up headlights. At least one open car was subsequently fitted with a removable hardtop by S.H. Arnolt. Prices as per a 1956 factory letter were $3995 for the competition model, $4245 for the bolide, $4995 for the deluxe and $5995 for the coupe.
Factory options for the Arnolt Bristols included a front sway bar, remote shifter, 11-inch Alfin drum brakes, convertible top, bumpers, Borrani KO steel wheels (nine sets were sold, and one car was sold with Borrani wire wheels) and several different rear end gear ratios. A special racing fuel tank was installed in some of the race cars but was never offered for sale to the public. Late in 1959 and 60, the 12-inch bell-shaped Bristol drum setup was offered, and in 1961 Bristol front disc brakes were offered to retro fit to the Arnolt Bristol. The majority of the cars had steel bodies, with aluminum trunk and hood.
The cars came with an owner’s manual, spares manual and shop workbook, as well as a spare wheel and tire and complete tool kit. Additional items such as Arnolt key fobs, neck ties, ice buckets and Arnolt logo head scarves were available from the company. A wide variety of promotional literature, including brochures and postcards, was also produced.
All of the cars were originally sold with Bristol BS1 MkII six-cylinder engines; some have subsequently been fitted with other engines.
All Arnolt Bristols were built between January 14, 1953 and December 12, 1959. The majority were built in 1954 and 1959. A total of 142 cars were produced, of which 12 were written off after a factory fire. The fire-damaged cars were used as a source of spares by Arnolt in later years. The total production included six coupes, and two aluminum alloy-bodied cars. One of the cars was originally right hand drive: the rest were all left hand drive. One of the cars never received a body, and was used as a rolling chassis for auto shows. This chassis is still in the possession of the Arnolt family.
Approximately 85 of the cars are still known to be extant, in conditions that vary from needing complete restoration to concours quality.
Despite the racing successes, the cars did not sell well.
Some of the cars did not sell until after 1960, and the last car to be sold, fitted with four headlights, remained unsold until 1968.
Common Misconceptions
A number of published sources have contained errors on the production numbers of the Arnolt Bristol. In part, this may be because some authors production or sales figures have been compared to existing copies of the SH Arnolt sales ledger. It is important to note that this ledger only records sales of the cars in the United States. As a result, European sales were not included. One result is that several sources claim only three coupes were built, when there were in fact six: one was sold in France and the other two in Spain (the chassis numbers of all of which are recorded in the Bristol Owner’s Club registry.) At the Paris Auto Show in 1955, an up-and-coming actor, Lee Marvin, saw the Arnolt Bristol coupe and purchased it. In later years, Marvin would win the Oscar for Best Actor, and after his death, his ultra-rare Arnolt Bristol Coupe (the only Arnolt ever built with the coved front fenders that would inspire the Corvette designers) sold at auction for $451,000.
A second misconception is that the cars were originally fitted with any engines other than the Bristol six-cylinder. All Arnolt Bristols were originally sold with the Bristol engine, and SH Arnolt did not fit any of the 283 Corvette engines some sources claim were sold by the factory. In later years, because of the spacious engine compartment, a variety of engines have been fitted to individual cars, including Chevrolet 283, 351 and 454 engines, and the Pontiac 389.
A third misconception is that SH Arnolt built the cars. The Arnolt Bristol was built in Filton as a powered chassis; the body was fitted by Bertone in Italy, and only final assembly, fitting of options, prep work and (occasionally) paint and upholstery changes were done in Warsaw, Indiana.
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