MG 100 years! | Autoworld

MG, the jewel in the British sports car crown, is celebrating its 100th anniversary at Autoworld from 7 November to 3 December.

The man who founded MG

In 1923, it was the stubborn Cecil Kimber who placed the octagonal MG (Morris Garages) logo on a converted Morris, launching the brand that would become synonymous with the quintessential British sports car.

Short lived independance

First still based on Morris models, Kimber would found the MG Motor Company in 1930 for more independancy, before Morris, then BMC (British Motor Company) and still later British Leyland would gobble up MG.

MG launched sports car hype after WW2

With models like the C-Type, the Q-Type, the M-Type Midget and K3 Magnette, sporting victories were also turned into commercial successes in the 1930s. MG's got imported in the US after WW2, with returning US troops literally taking their sports cars home with them. After WW2, the TC Midget, the TF especially the MGA in 1955 provided a more than worthy follow-up. With the MG Midget launched in 1961 being the smaller icing on the cake.

MGB: Quintessential British sportscar

With over half a million sold, the MGB (1962) would leave its mark on the history of the quintessentially British sports car. Until 1980, the MGB was the cornerstone on which the reputation of MG and by extension, all British sports cars was built. There is also a Belgian link with the MGB Coune, as the Belgian coachbuilder Coune sold 56 coupé versions of the MGB, before MG came up with a coupé version of its sales stopper.

MGF: back to successful past

Afterwards, things went downhill fast for MG. Poor management, hardly exciting models and a world increasingly out of touch with sportscars left the octagonal logo surviving deep into the 21st century, albeit without much shine. The 1995-launched MGF briefly returned the proven recipe of a small, lightweight sports car and what once made MG great. MG would continue as the sporty arm of Rover after that, but success failed to materialise.

Electric MG

In 2006, MG became part of the Nanjing Automobile Group and shortly afterwards SAIC Motor, with the first new MG coming to Europe as late as 2011: the MG 6. Meanwhile, MG is having a go at the electric market with the MG ZS EV. In a nutshell, 100 years of history of MG, the pre-eminent British sports car brand, which will be celebrated with a retrospective exhibition at Autoworld from 7 November to 3 December.

Did you know?

Belgium's star football player Paul van Himst drove a light blue MGB convertible? When the Dutch player and infamous football analyst Jan Mulder joined Anderlecht in 1964, he stipulated an MGB as remuneration with his contract. Mulder proudly parked it next to his colleague Van Himst's MGB. Until today, Paul Van Himst teases his former Anderlecht colleague with the fact that he had to pay for his MGB himself.