CELEBRATING THE FIRST MG A—ITS MISSING LINK HERE AT SIMANAITISSAYS PART 1

IN RECOUNTING THE TALE OF THE MG A, SimanaitisSays talked about its progenitor in “George Phillips and His MG Race Cars,” October 26, 2015; and, summarizing the end of MG A production, in the “MG A 1600 MK II—Abingdon’s Multitude of A’s,” April 25, 2020. 

But we have overlooked two particular R&Ts, November and December 1955, both celebrating the original MG A. Here in Parts 1 and 2 today and tomorrow we fill in this missing link.

“A New and Beautiful Baby.” November 1955 R&T enthused, “ ‘After many a summer’ there has been born at Abingdon-on-Thames a new and beautiful baby. Its birth, in a sense, closes the door on the traditional past and ushers in a modern era at the MG factory. Even the car’s designation starts again at the beginning of the alphabet.” 

This and following images from R&T, November 1955.

A Brief History. R&T recounted, “On the outskirts of a small village in England, situated in almost rural surroundings stands an interesting, rather old, red-brick building. This is the Abingdon-on-Thames works, where the late Cecil Kimber finally settled his rapidly growing business of building Morris ‘hot-rods.’ That move was made in 1929, and in the ensuing productive years there have been many changes in MG cars—but none like we find for 1956!”

A Clean Sheet. R&T said, “The most complete, most extensive design change in 20 years summarizes the new MG, henceforth the ‘A’ model. Only the TD/TF front suspension appears to be unchanged. There is a new frame, engine, transmission, rear axle, and of course a new body.”

Goodbye, Fine Old Traditions. “Greatest interest,” R&T observed, “probably focuses on the new styling, and the accompanying photos show that a more streamlined form has been chosen principally to improve salability to a growing segment of the population who have become interested in sports cars and care nothing about fine old traditions.”

R&T noted, “A second reason for the complete changeover in policy is, of course, the demand for high top speed, even in a 1 1/2-litre car. The new contours add almost exactly 10 mph to the ‘flat-out’ speed with no change in engine output.” 

“The chassis frame of the ‘A’ model,” R&T observed, “proves that no attempt has been made to save weight, for the MG has always been notable for its sturdy construction. The side rails are box section (as before) but now swing out behind the front wheels and back in again at the rear wheels. This allows a lower seating position with both seats between the frame rails.”

Powertrain. “At first glance,” R&T said, “the new engine appears to be a bored-out version of the BMC 1200 cc unit. This is not true, for the BMC ‘1500’ engine is a completely new design, though also used in the Austin A-50, the Morris Oxford and the Magnette sedan.”

“The new gearbox,” R&T continued, “is a modification of the Magnette’s, but with closer ratios designed to give 45 mph in 2nd and 70 mph in 3rd, at 5500 rpm.” 

Options.  “Next to the design changes,” R&T added, “the most interesting item concerning the new MG is the long list of options which will be available to suit the needs of competition minded purchasers. Whether the list will include the Le Mans cylinder lead (82.5 bhp at 6000) is not announced, but knock-off wire wheels and 5.50 racing tires are catalogued options.”

Marketing. As a sign of the company’s seriousness in U.S. sales, R&T’s November 1955 covers were dually adorned with MGs. 

And in December 1955, as shown in SimanaitisSays tomorrow in Part 2, R&T was given opportunity to perform a road test of the all-new MG A. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2025