A TRIBUTE TO ABINGDON
By Andrew Roberts |
23rd October, 2020
A TRIBUTE TO ABINGDON
On the 24th October 1980, one of the world’s most famous car factories closed its doors. Here we pay tribute to just some of the cars that were made in Abingdon.
18/80 1928 - 1931
The first MG to bear the distinctive “split radiator” and the first with an in-house designed chassis.
M-Type “Midget” 1929 -1932
The company’s original lightweight sports car, Autocar declared that ‘The MG Midget will make small sports car history’.
K-Type Magnette 1932 – 1934
The short-chassis K3 racing version achieved world fame for its class win in the 1933 Mille Miglia and victory (on handicap) in the Ulster RAC Tourist Trophy. In the following year, a Magnette won the Index of Performance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.7
TA Midget 1936 to 1939
In 1937 Motor Sport described the first of the T-Types as offering ‘exceptional value for money, yet is full of “life” and possessed of those thoroughbred qualities that the enthusiastic sportsman deems essential in his personal motor-car’.
WA 1938 – 1939
The largest and most magnificent of Abingdon’s pre-war saloons, the 2.6-litre WA was also available as a Tickford drophead coupe or the equally imposing Charlesworth Tourer. An MG to compete with Alvis, Riley or the SS Jaguar.
TC 1945 – 1949
Or the MG that introduced thousands of American motorists to the joys of the Octagon badge, even if exports were in RHD-only form.
Y/YB 1947 – 1953
According to Autocar, the first post-war MG saloon called ‘to the man who enjoys performance, but wants it plus saloon comfort and silence, and still with economy’.
Riley RM 1948 – 1955
Riley unveiled the RM in 1946, but two years later production moved from Coventry to Abingdon.
TD 1950 – 1953
A refinement of the TC, with an “Mk.2 Competition” option for the very enthusiastic owner. The great Tom McCahill wrote in 1952 that ‘If you are interested in sports cars and have never owned one, the MG would be impossible to beat as a starter. Just about all our top American drivers, like Briggs Cunningham and John Fitch, got their know-how racing the mighty midget’.
TF 1953 – 1955
The last of the “Ts”, and the subject of a highly memorable Road & Track report in March 1954; ‘to drive an MG is sheer pleasure. This is no car for the average Joe looking for transportation’. Furthermore – ‘even the office girls hated to see the TF go back’.
Magnette ZA 1953 – 1956
Another MG of “firsts” – namely the monocoque bodywork and the British Motor Corporation’s 1.5-litre ‘B-series’ unit. Autosport found the ZA’s engine ‘delightfully smooth’ and the road holding to be ‘excellent’ – as befitting one of the finest British sports saloons of the decade.
Riley Pathfinder 1953 – 1956
The last Riley to boast the famous 2.5-litre “Big Four” engine - and the first to boast Gerald Palmer’s handsome coachwork.
MGA 1955 – 1962
Quite simply, the lines of the MGA can only be described as ‘exquisite’. As Car & Driver of January 1957 put it – ‘Its body is sleek and suave and it has perhaps the first really stiff frame in the long evolution of the little hot rods from Abingdon-on-Thames. But in spite of all the visible and hidden changes and improvements, you have only to drive the “A” around the block to recognize its old MG character’.
EX 181 1957
An MG that was even brisker than usual...
MGA Twin-Cam 1958-1960
For a very reasonable £1,265 17s (Roadster) or £1,357 7s (Coupe) you gained an MG with a top speed of 114 mph that was capable for 0-60 in less than 14 seconds. ‘Performance of this order usually costs twice the money!’, proclaimed Abingdon, with justifiable pride.
Austin-Healey 3000 1959 – 1967
The last of an entire genre of British open-topped sports cars, one that ‘devours distance with effortless ease’. Flying jacket optional.
Midget 1961 – 1979
‘The car is in effect a luxury version of the Austin-Healey Sprite II, and is thus £30 dearer with tax’ remarked Autocar of the 18th of August 1961. And, for just £689 11s 5d you too could own ‘an endearing little car with a remarkable capacity for nipping among heavy traffic. It is easy and safe to drive, and certainly is approaching the ideal for the market which it is intended to serve’.
MGB 1962 – 1980
Still bedrock of the British classic car movement, still much taken for granted and still, for many, the archetypal affordable sports car of the 1960s - .
Fittingly, the last car to depart the Oxfordshire factory on the 23rd October 1980, was an MGB.
MGC 1967 – 1969
For many years the MGC was an underrated machine; judged in terms of the last of the “Big Healeys” rather than on its own merits. On the 4th of November 1967 Motor observed ‘there are few cars that can outpace the MGC at anything near its £1,163 price tag’ and the C is now regarded as a prime example of an Abingdon touring car.
MGB V8 1973 – 1976
To quote MG’s own publicity - ‘a unique combination of timeless good looks, high geared and effortless long distance travel, superb road-holding and handling. It is a thoroughbred Grand Touring car for the enthusiast who demands performance without having to work for it’.
Why choose Lancaster Insurance?
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
- Static show cover
- Limited mileage discounts
- Choice of repairer
- 24-hour claims helpline
Give your classic the protection it deserves and get a quote for your MG today.
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