MG Enthusiast

When it comes to saving MGs that have a pretty bleak-looking future, let it not be said that I haven’t done my bit. Working as a motoring journalist helps, as in order to drive other people’s cars, I have a motor trade and press demonstration insurance policy (which is a pretty important part of the job, especially as – away from MGE – I also do some work for two of the classic auction companies). This gives me carte blanche to buy and run as many cars as I wish, so long as I accept a trade valuation and don’t mind paying out a pretty hefty annual insurance premium. I have no choice, really, if I want to do my job properly and legally, so when it comes to making…

The annual Goodwood Festival of Speed has become almost a substitute for a conventional motor show; an outdoor event (but with some very substantial pavilions) and is host to an enticing mixture of sporting and semi-sporting fixtures, debuts of all manner of new cars, and an opportunity to rub shoulders with like minded enthusiasts as well as celebrities and semi-royalty from the worlds of motor-racing and motor-industry. Every year, the Duke of Richmond – whose grandfather started an MG racing team in 1930 and hosted many racing events (horses as well as racing cars) – hosts this magnificent event on his beautiful, sprawling West Sussex estate, and highlights for the chief sponsoring marques generally include the creation of an appropriately-themed stunning sculpture rising above the lawns in front of Goodwood…

The new model – closely related to a Roewe model on sale only in China - is larger and offers better luggage capacity (44 litres greater). Compared to the outgoing HS, the new one is 14mm wider at 1,890mm and 45mm longer at 4,655mm (4,670mm for PHEV models), but its overall height is lower by 30mm. The wheelbase has been lengthened by 45mm to 2,765mm, to the benefit of passenger space. Colour and Trim: White Pearl, Black Pearl, Sterling Silver Metallic, Hampstead Grey Metallic, and Dynamic Red Tri-coat. In addition to the black leather-style upholstery of the HS Trophy, a tan option has been added. The New MG HS Range Petrol: 1.5T petrol engine delivering 125kW (169ps) and 275Nm of torque, capable of achieving 0-62mph in 9.4 seconds. Equipped with…

Japanese MGFs Regarding your recently acquired Japanese market MGF. Firstly, congratulations in saving another early Japanese market car. I too have bought a Japanese market car – Molly, my 1997 White Diamond MGF VVC. Like yours, my car was but a stone’s throw from my house. I bought her as the owner was going to scrap her due to a leaking water pump of all things - she had 12 months’ MOT when I bought her. She’s now all fixed and I’ve been enjoying driving her for over a year now. I’ve ascertained that your car was built in 1997 and was therefore re imported back home in 2000, the same as mine. There have been no plate changes on yours, unlike mine that had a cherished plate for 10…

Having read your editorial in Issue 436 of MG Enthusiast, I thought I’d pen you a line or two about my own efforts to preserve Zeds for future prosperity. My Zed story began in early 2002 when MG Rover were offering a discount to MGCC/MGOC members, which led to me buying a brand new pearl black ZS 180 four-door. For my first experience of the range that ZS was a really great driver’s car, and was definitely a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Sadly, my joy didn’t last too long after I stopped at a red traffic light and the car behind didn’t. Its replacement in early 2003 was another brand new pearl black ZS 180, only for this one to be stolen in London nine months later. My next venture…

Mention modified MGs and some enthusiasts will get a little twitchy. They might be imagining a lowered ZR, with booming a bass box, wheel-spinning out of the local McDonalds, or perhaps just cannot fathom why the owner of a 1963 vehicle would fit the seats from a 1964 model year. The reality is that owners have been modifying their MGs ever since the marque began, to make them go faster and look better, both on the road and track. Indeed, MG (or Morris Garages) itself was a brand that came into being by modifying existing cars. Perhaps the best examples of this are the special-bodied Sprites and Midgets from companies like Speedwell, Lenham and Ashley. In addition to mechanical upgrades, these had new bodywork made of aluminium or the new…