MG Century

100 Years—Safety Fast!

David Knowles

• Publisher: Motorbooks
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9780760383155
• eBook ISBN: 9780760383162
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Automotive Transportation & Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Celebrate and explore 100 years of MG cars with this impressive volume featuring expert commentary, historical images, period ads, and contemporary photography.

For many car enthusiasts, MG is synonymous with “sports car.” It is often credited with igniting a passion for European cars in postwar America at a time when roads were otherwise filled with the lumbering output of Detroit. In MG’s native England, the company’s cars filled roles from family transport to competition driving.

MG, as we think of it today, began in the 1920s, but its roots go back even further with a young William Morris. Initially working in the booming bicycle trade, he eventually branched into motorcycle and car repair with the fledgling Morris Garage (hence, MG) in 1907. By the mid 1920s, the successful Morris Garages was in a position to begin manufacture of its own cars under the MG name.

MG grew significantly in the years before World War II, building and racing its classic Midgets and Magnettes. World War II provided challenging times for the company as it did for the UK and much of the world. In the postwar period, a focus on sales outside England, and particularly in the United States, both defined MG’s product line and ensured its success. Legendary cars followed, including MG TC, TD, and TF followed by thoroughly modern MGA, MGB, MGB GT, and Midget. Magnettes and the 1100 offered options for those wanting sedans and more practical cars.

MG ownership moved through a number of UK companies in the postwar period as well as ownership by BMW and today’s SAIC, a Chinese-based company through which it operates as MG Motor. Highlights along the way included the MGB GT V8, MG Metro Group B rally car, and MGF. Based on its latest state-of-the-art EV platform, MG will soon launch an all-new roadster coming full circle over its century in business.

Authored by marque expert David Knowles, The MG Century: 100 Years of Safety Fast! is a fitting celebration of one of the automotive world’s oldest and most beloved brands—and a must-have for every car enthusiast.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 The Roaring Twenties
• 2 Midgets, Magnas, and Magnettes
• 3 War Years
• 4 Postwar Recovery
• 5 Superlative Sixties
• 6 Success Against the Odds: The Seventies
• 7 Changing Gear in the Eighties
• 8 The Nineties: Return of the MG Sports Car
• 9 Phoenix Rising: Into the Millennium
• 10 Renaissance: Toward a Glorious Centenary
• Acknowledgments
• Index
• Copyright