MG is a British automotive marque founded by Cecil Kimber in the 1920s, and M.G. Car Company Limited was the British sports car manufacturer existing between 1930 and 1972 that made the marque well known.

William Morris's Morris Garages in Longwall Street, Oxford, was the Oxford agent for his Morris cars. Cecil Kimber joined the dealership as its sales manager in 1921 and was promoted to general manager in 1922. Kimber began promoting sales by producing his own special versions of Morris cars.

The MG Octagon was registered as a trademark by Morris Garages on 1 May 1924. Morris Garages assembled its cars in premises in Alfred Lane, Oxford. 

In 1928, the company had become large enough to warrant an identity separate from the original Morris Garages, and The M.G. Car Company was used from March of that year.

m type

The MG M-type (also known as the MG Midget) is a sports car that was produced by MG Cars from April 1929 until 1932. It was sometimes referred to as the 8/33. Launched at the 1928 London Motor Show when sales of larger MG saloons was faltering due to the economic climate, the small car brought MG ownership to a new sector of the market and probably saved the company. Early cars were made in the Cowley factory, but from 1930, production had transferred to Abingdon.

The M-Type was one of the first genuinely affordable sports cars to be offered by an established manufacturer, as opposed to modified versions of factory-built saloon cars and tourers. The M-type was also the first MG to wear the Midget name that would be used on a succession of small sports cars until 1980.

Early bodies were fabric-covered using a wood frame; this changed to all-metal in 1931. Most cars had bodies made by Carbodies of Coventry and fitted by MG in either open two-seat or closed two-door "Sportsmans" coupé versions, but some chassis were supplied to external coachbuilders such as Jarvis. The factory even made a van version as a service vehicle.

sa

The MG SA or MG 2-litre is a sporting saloon that was produced by MG from 1936 to 1939. Launched as the 2-litre, it only later became known as the SA, the car had been originally planned as an advanced performance saloon to rival the likes of SS Cars (later to be known as Jaguar) and even Bentley with all independent suspension and was given the factory code of EX150 and designated the S-type.

The car used a tuned version of the six-cylinder 2062 cc  Morris QPHG engine which it shared with the Wolseley Super Six but enlarged to 2288 cc. The capacity was increased again to 2322 cc in 1937 bringing it into line with the Wolseley 18.

Of the 2739 cars made, 350 were exported with Germany proving the best market. At the 1938 London Motor show, alongside an SA there was a new 2.6-litre car, the WA. This was probably designed to be a replacement but both cars ran in parallel until the outbreak of war in 1939 caused production of both to cease. Neither was re-introduced in 1945.

The M.G. Car Company Limited was absorbed along with Morris into The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC), created in 1952 as a merger of Morris Motors Limited and The Austin Motor Company Limited. Long-time service manager John Thornley took over as general manager, guiding the company through its best years until his retirement in 1969. Under BMC, several MG models were no more than badge-engineered versions of other marques, with the main exception being the small MG sports cars. BMC merged with Jaguar Cars in September 1966, and that December, the new company was named British Motor Holdings (BMH). BMH merged with the Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968 to form British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC).

While new Triumph models such as the TR7 and the Dolomite were launched during the 1970s, no new MG models were introduced apart from the limited-production V8 version of the MGB. While the MG operations was profitable these profits were entirely offset by the huge losses accrued by the rest of the Austin-Morris division and any funding to the Division within BL was allocated to urgently required mass market models, leaving MG with limited resources to develop and maintain its existing model range, which became increasingly outdated.

By this point, MG was nothing more than a marque used by BLMC, and from about 1972, the name "M.G. Car Company Limited" ceased to be used.

magnette

za

The MG Magnette is a car that was produced by MG between 1953 and 1968. The Magnette was manufactured in two build series, the ZA and ZB of 1953 through to 1958 and the Mark III and Mark IV of 1959 through to 1968, both using a modified Wolseley body and an Austin engine.

MG Cars had previously used the Magnette name on their K-type and N-type models of the 1930s.

The Magnette was designed by Gerald Palmer, designer of the Jowett Javelin. It was the first appearance of the new four cylinder 1489 cc B-Series I4 engine. The similar Wolseley 4/44, first sold one year earlier, used the 1250 cc engine from the MG TF. Although visually similar, the MG has lower suspension and only the front doors, boot lid, and roof panels are shared.

zb

The ZA was replaced by the Magnette ZB that was announced on 12 October 1956. Power was increased to 64 hp.

The extra power increased the top speed to 138 km/h and reduced the 0–97 km/h time to 18.5 seconds. The similar Wolseley 15/50 now shared the ZB's B-Series engine.

mkIII

The Mark III announced 2 February 1959 was nearly identical to the Riley version (the 4/68) of the new Pinin Farina-designed midsize BMC saloon line. They both had truncated tail fins.

All versions (including the Austin A55 Cambridge Mark II, Morris Oxford V and Wolseley 15/60) were produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC).

The car featured BMC's 1489 cc B type engine but, in the MG Magnette III (and its Riley sibling), performance was enhanced by fitting twin S.U. H.D.4 carburetters.

mkIV

The Mark III was updated in 1961 as the Mark IV. A larger 1.6 L  B-Series engine, with capacity increased, was fitted, and the car had a longer wheelbase and wider track.

From the outside, the Mark IV was almost identical to the Mark III, apart from the remodelled and slightly less sharply pointed tailfins, a modification shared with its Riley sibling.

The model continued to be listed through till May 1968 when the manufacturers announced that production had ceased with "no immediate replacement ... contemplated". 14.320 Mark IVs were built.

mga

The MGA is a sports car that was produced by MG from 1955 until 1962.

The MGA replaced the MG TF 1500 Midget and represented a complete styling break from MG's earlier sports cars. Announced on 26 September 1955 the car was officially launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

A total of 101.476 units were marketed through the end of production in July 1962, the vast majority of which were exported. 5869 cars were sold on the home market, and the MGA was replaced by the MGB.

The 1489 cc engine fitted with twin H4 type SU Carburettors produced 68 hp at first, but was soon uprated to 72 hp. Lockheed hydraulic drum brakes were used on all wheels. A coupé version was also produced, bringing the total production of standard MGAs to 58.750. The engine size was eventually increased  to 1622 cc for the last of the series, the 1961 Mark II MGA.

midget

The MG Midget is a small two-seater lightweight sports car produced by MG from 1961 to 1979. It revived a name that had been used on earlier models such as the MG M-type, MG D-type, MG J-type and MG T-type.

mgb

The MGB is a two-door sports car manufactured and marketed from 1962 until 1980 by the British Motor Corporation (BMC), later the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland, as a four-cylinder, soft-top sports car. It was announced and its details first published on 19 September 1962. Variants include the MGB GT three-door 2+2 coupé (1965–1980), the six-cylinder sports car and coupé MGC (1967–1969), and the eight-cylinder 2+2 coupé, the MGB GT V8 (1973–1976).

Replacing the MGA in 1962, production of the MGB and its variants continued until 1980, though fixed roof GT models ceased export to the US in 1974. Sales for the MGB, MGC and MGB GT V8 combined totaled 523.836 cars. After a 12-year hiatus, the MGB re-entered production as the heavily modified MG RV8 with a limited run of 2,000 cars before its final replacement in 1995 by the MG F.

rv8  1992-1995

Subsequent to the launch of the Mazda MX-5 in 1989, British Motor Heritage (by then owned by Rover Group) had placed the MGB bodyshell back in production to serve the MGB restoration market. The success of the MX-5 had given Rover confidence that the market for 2 seater roadsters had re-emerged, and the decision was taken in 1991 to create an updated MGB model. The suspension was only slightly updated, sharing the leaf spring rear of the MGB. The boot lid and doors were shared with the original car, as were the rear drum brakes. The engine was the 3.9-litre version of the aluminium Rover V8, similar to the one previously used in the MGB GT V8.

The engine produced 190 bhp at 4750 rpm, achieving 0–100 km/h in 6 seconds. Largely due to the rear drum brakes and rear leaf springs, the RV8 was not popular with road testers.

maestro

The Austin Maestro is a five-door hatchback small family car (and two-door van derivative) that was produced from November 1982 to 1986 by British Leyland, and from 1986 until December 1994 by Rover Group, as a replacement for the Austin Maxi and Austin Allegro.

The sporty MG version of this car was rushed into production against engineers' advice at the launch in March 1983, the original MG Maestro was under-developed. Its 1.6-litre R-series engine ran roughly, was difficult to start when warm, and its Weber twin carburettors could not always be properly tuned by dealership workshops, who were used to SU carburettors. 

After a brief interval, the MG Maestro was relaunched in October 1984 with a fuel-injected 2.0-litre O-series engine that gave considerably better performance than its predecessor. Production of the MG Maestro finished in 1991, as Rover had launched GTi versions of the new 200 and 400 models, though the standard Maestro remained in production until 1994.

After BL became the Rover Group in 1986, ownership of the MG marque passed to British Aerospace in 1988 and then in 1994 to BMW. The MG name was revived for a second time in 1992 with the launch of the MG RV8, followed by the mid-engined MG F in 1995, which proved to be more successful than the short-lived RV8.

BMW sold the business in 2000 and the MG marque passed to the MG Rover Group based in Longbridge, Birmingham. The practice of selling unique MG sports cars alongside badge-engineered models (by now Rovers) continued. The Group went into receivership in 2005 and car production was suspended on 7 April 2005.

mgf

The MG F and MG TF are mid-engined, rear wheel drive roadster cars that were sold under the MG marque by three manufacturers between 1995 and 2011.

The MG F was the first new model designed as an MG since the MGB that was produced from 1962 to 1980, the marque spent the 1980s being used to denote performance models from then parent Austin Rover Group, and was briefly seen on the MG RV8, a limited edition relaunch of the MG MGB which was sold between 1993 and 1995.

The MG F was launched in the autumn of 1995 by the Rover Group, making it the third car to be launched after the takeover by BMW. It was powered by a 1.8 L K-Series 16-valve engine, the basic having 118 hp while the more powerful VVC (variable valve control) had 143 hp.

The MG F underwent a facelift in autumn of 1999, and gave the car a revised interior as well as styling tweaks and fresh alloy wheel designs. There was also the introduction of a base 1.6 version and a more powerful 1.8L 160 hp.

In 2002, the MG TF was released, named after the MG TF Midget of the 1950s. Based upon the MG F platform, but heavily redesigned and reengineered. Production was suspended in April 2005, when MG Rover collapsed. 39,249 MG TFs were built from 2002 until 2005.

zt

2001-2005

The MG ZT is a car which was produced by MG Rover from 2001 to 2005. It was offered in saloon and estate versions, the latter designated as the MG ZT-T. Styling is similar to the Rover 75, upon which it was based, although various modifications, most noticeably the wheels and tyres, make for a far sportier ride. Production ceased in April 2005, amidst financial turmoil at MG Rover.

The MG ZT only had one trim level, though the standard car could be ordered with a "Plus" pack. MG ZT models were named after engine unit power output, i.e. a 160ps V6 model was a MG ZT 160, and a 190ps V6 model with a "Plus" pack was a MG ZT 190+.

During the first few months of 2004, MG Rover facelifted the design of the ZT and ZT-T to a less retro look, at the same time as the Rover 75 received a facelift. The facelift didn't feature much tho.

xpower sv

2003-2005

The MG XPower SV is a sports car that was produced by British automobile manufacturer MG Rover. Manufactured in Modena, Italy and finished at Longbridge, United Kingdom, it was based on the platform of the Qvale Mangusta, formerly the De Tomaso Biguà, itself using parts from the Ford Mustang.

The production process was complex, partly caused by the use of carbon fibre, to make the body panels. The basic body parts were made in the United Kingdom by SP Systems, and then shipped to Belco Avia, near Turin, for assembly into body panels.

These were then assembled into a complete body shell, and fitted onto the box frame chassis and running gear, and shipped to the factory of MG Rover, in Longbridge, to be trimmed and finished.

The base MG XPower SV is powered by a 4.6 L Ford Modular V8 which is rated at 320 hp at 6000 rpm. The SV's advanced carbon fibre body helped it achieve a top speed of 266 km/h and a 0 to 100 km/h time of 5.4 seconds.

The XPower SV-R, released the following year, features a Roush tuned, "cammer" 5.0 L 32 valve Modular V8. MG claimed the SV-R's engine was rated at 385 hp.

Most were sold in Europe and Asia, with only one model sold in America, the supercharged model, the XP (82 produced).

On 22 July 2005, Chinese manufacturer Nanjing Automobile Group purchased the rights to the MG marque along with other assets of the MG Rover Group, forming NAC MG UK Limited. In 2007, Nanjing Automobile was acquired by another Chinese manufacturer SAIC Motor, and NAC MG UK Limited was renamed MG Motor UK Limited in 2009. Since then, the MG marque has been controlled by SAIC as a division within the company's passenger vehicle branch.

The first all-new MG model for 16 years, the MG6, was officially launched in June 2011, and was assembled in China and in UK at the Longbridge plant. In September 2016, MG Motor ended car production at the Longbridge plant. Since then, MG vehicles had been imported from China into the UK.

mg6

The MG6 is a compact car which has been produced by MG since 2010. It is slotted slightly above the compact sedan MG GT, and the compact hatchback MG 5.

The first-generation MG6 was initially announced in April 2009 at the Shanghai Auto Show, as a five-door GT/fastback, and in October 2010 at Shanghai Expo, as a four-door notchback saloon model. It is derived from the Roewe 550, hence being distantly related to the Rover 75, sharing its front subframe.

The MG6 sold below expectations in the United Kingdom, eventually being dropped from the range there in 2016, whilst continuing in other markets.

The second-generation MG6 incorporates MG's new design language, "Emotional Dynamism", which was launched with MG's second SUV, the MG ZS in 2016. The new grille which is an important part of MG's new design language is called 'Star Rider'.

In July 2020, the second-generation MG6 received a facelift marketed as the third-generation MG6 by SAIC MG.

cyberster

The MG Cyberster is a battery electric roadster produced by SAIC Motor under the MG marque since 2023. The vehicle was previewed as a concept car with the same name in 2021. In 2024, MG released a 2-door coupé concept version of the Cyberster called the Cyber GTS.

The Cyberster receives rear lights incorporating the United Kingdom flag (Union Jack) and interactive "Magic Eye" headlights that would pop up when turned on. It is electrically powered and has a range of 800 km.

The MG Cyberster is a "gaming style" EV concept that is inspired by the legendary MGB Roadster of the 60s.

The most powerful version adopts a dual-motor all-wheel drive setup, producing 536 hp and 725 N⋅m of torque. It is equipped with a 77 kWh battery with a CLTC-rated range of 580 km. MG claimed a 0–100 km/h figure of 3.2 seconds. A lighter rear-wheel drive version will be offered with a smaller 64 kWh battery and 310 hp power output.