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Any Z-Series MG is an object of desire – one of the finest British sports saloons of the 1950s and certainly one of the most beautiful. But this 1955 ZA is an exclusive motor-car even by Magnette standards. Not only does it have a total mileage of 54,000, but one family has owned it from new. And it has delighted motoring enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Grant Howlett ‘inherited the car from my grandfather Lord Peter Miller - hence the car is named “Lord Peter”’. He purchased the “Twilight Grey” MG from a dealership in Bury St Edmunds in June 1955. The price was £980, which included a full tank of petrol for sixty-six shillings and a very expensive wireless for £9 10s. Grant recalls that the Magnette was ‘one of five or six vehicles that he owned, but it soon became his “special Sunday car” and occasional mode of transport for annual fishing trips and summer vacations’.

No other family member was allowed to drive HGV 126, and no-one ever sat on the red leather upholstered rear seat, which was permanently covered with a picnic blanket. According to Grant, his grandfather ‘never allowed the car to get wet. It was wrapped in blankets each winter and kept in a warm garage always. The car was fastidiously hand-polished by him each month and was serviced by the same mechanic and garage for over 40 years. The only non-standard item he fitted to the car was an s/s exhaust in 1963’.

Lord Peter Miller drove the MG right up until his death at the age of 97 in 1998. It was bequeathed to his daughter – Grant’s mother – to pass on to Mr Howlett. At that time Grant resided in Virginia, and so the Magnette was shipped to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Charlottesville. Naturally, such a fine vehicle caused quite a stir as the ZA’s looks and ethos were diametrically opposed to typical mid-1950s Detroit machinery.

Mr Howlett remembers being regularly stopped by curious motor enthusiasts when he drove the Magnette on long distance rallies to other states. ‘They never guessed it was an MG saloon and always asked “is it a baby Bentley?” or “a baby Jag?”’. There was also considerable interest in the Magnette’s trafficators. Some 1950s American trucks were still equipped with a semaphore “traffic signal”, but such a feature was unknown on the average Chevrolet or Plymouth sedan.   

Lord Peter and Grant returned to home to Suffolk in 2007. Today, Mr. Howlett remarks that that ZA is ‘very easy to drive’ asides from the lack of power steering. However, the Magnette has ‘excellent suspension and is very comfortable’. He finds that the original 1.5-litre engine ‘still pulls well with four passengers up to 65 mph, but is slow on acceleration and brakes are still very good considering not discs’.

The public reaction to the ZA is best described as ‘disbelief that it is completely original -chrome/ paint/ interior leather/ wood/ headlining/ carpet/ engine etc.!’. And it more than lives up to the claims of the advertisements – ‘Safety Fast in Airsmoothed Style’.

With Thanks To: Grant Howlett

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Here at Lancaster, we love classic cars as much as you do and we understand what it takes to protect them for future generations.

We have links with some of the top classic car clubs around the country and some of our policies even offer discounts of up to 25% for club members.

Other benefits of classic car insurance through Lancaster can include:

• Historic rally cover
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