DO YOU REMEMBER – THE MG MAGNETTE ZA AND ZB?
By Ellie Priestley |
13th July, 2020
It would be fair to say that the Magnette ZA created quite a stir at the 1953 Motor Show. The name may have been borrowed from a pre-war racer, but it was the first MG with monocoque bodywork and the first to use the British Motor Corporation’s 1.5-litre ‘B-series’ unit. The specification also included rack and pinion steering and, most notably of all, Gerald Palmer’s styling conveyed distinct overtones of the Lancia Aurelia Berlina.
Some Abingdon devotees grumbled about the Magnette’s resemblance to its Wolseley 4/44 stablemate, but in reality, they had just front doors, roof, and boot lid in common; the MG also stood two inches lower. Full production commenced in February 1954, and the discerning motorist thought £915 was a most reasonable price for an 80 mph 4/5 seater with a heater and leather upholstery as standard. Autosport found the ZA’s engine ‘delightfully smooth’ and the road holding to be ‘excellent’.
1955 saw Magnettes take 1st and 3rd places in the Silverstone Production Car Race while the specification now included a walnut veneer fascia. In October of the following year, MG introduced the ZB with a more powerful version of the B-series engine, an improved dashboard, and a top speed of 86 mph. Bill Boddy wrote in the January 1958 edition of Motor Sport:
for those who require a dignified, nicely-equipped 4/5-seater saloon which goes and handles extremely well, the MG Magnette is their motor car. At the all-in price of just over £1,000 it stands virtually alone as offering excellent value.
MG also offered a new flagship in the form of the ZB Varitone, so named for its duotone paint finish. It was further recognisable by its larger rear window and flashing indicators – another first for an MG saloon. The ‘Sports Saloon – Plus!’ enhanced the range but by contrast, the optional “clutchless” gearbox proved highly unpopular. ‘She’s driving the car…but the selective-automatic Manumatic is doing the work!’ proclaimed one very 1957 advert but the system was so unreliable there were only 496 takers.
The debut of the Wolseley 15/60 in December 1958 presaged a new generation of BMC medium-sized cars, and some MG (and Riley) enthusiasts were already suspicious. The Mk. III replaced the ZB in February 1959 and one letter to the motoring press lamented:
No doubt there is a good economic reason for this method of production, but I am not convinced that the employment of Farina is a good thing for BMC, since, like so many sheep, we are sacrificing the true British traditions of originality.
And for all the genuine merits of the Mk. III it was not a sports saloon per se. BMC would never make another car in that class, for the Riley One Point Five and, three years later, the MG 1100 were far smaller.
Had the Z-series been re-engineered in the manner of Jaguar forging the Mk. 2 from the Mk.1, a “ZC” could have been the keystone for a new generation of Octagon-badged four-doors. Back in 1956 Abingdon did embark on Project EX202, a Magnette powered by the Austin A90 Westminster’s 2-6 litre C-series unit but this sadly never entered production. As it is, the Magnette ZA and ZB deserve to be recalled as some of the finest British cars of the 1950s – ‘safety fast in air smoothed style’.
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