Way back in 1921, a young and enthusiastic car designer named Cecil Kimber secured a job as Sales Manager at Morris Garages in Longwall Street, Oxford. A mere 1 year later in 1922, he was promoted to General Manager. 

His enthusiasm for motorised vehicles had started with a motorcycle purchased soon after he left school, but an accident that caused severe injuries to his right leg forced him to swap two wheels for four, he bought his first car, and the die was cast.

As well as running the Morris showroom and garage, to try and boost sales Cecil started designing special bodywork for the cars and 100 years ago, in March 1923, a Kimber bodied bull nosed Morris was driven by him in the Lands End Trial where he achieved a gold medal. Although there is still some disagreement, it is generally accepted that this was the prototype MG and was the first car to bear the initials MG – which stands for Morris Garages.

It is a different car however, known as ‘Old Number One’ (see below) which is recognised as the first ever 'official' MG, and although a number of MGs were built on Morris Cowley chassis before Old Number One came on the scene in 1925, this vehicle was the first MG to be built specifically to compete in sporting events. It is now part of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust Collection at Gaydon and is on permanent display there.

It didn’t take long for MG cars to gain a reputation as being affordable performance vehicles, being faster and sportier than the Morris cars they were initially adapted from.

The company really made a name for themselves in the 1930s with a class win with the K3 at the 1933 Mille Miglia road race, being the first non-Italian team to have won.

In 2012 the company found itself back on top with Jason Plato achieving success at the British Touring Car Championships.

In 1957, the MG Ex181 set a world record speed of 245.64mph, and 2 years later in 1959, MG decided to break its own record – by achieving a speed of 254.91mph at Bonneville Salt Flats. The MG was driven by Sir Stirling Moss.

FAMOUS MG OWNERS

Over the years this inspiring British brand has been bought into by several famous names. Some of the most famous MG owners include:

 The Duke of Edinburgh (TC model)

 HRH Prince Charles (GT SGY 766F) – this car later passed down to Prince William

 HRH Princess Anne

 Elvis Presley

 Geri Halliwell

 Sharon Stone

 Joe Petty

In addition to being owned by famous individuals, several models of MG have been immortalised in film and music. This created a rather large cult following of this brand, with a large following of enthusiasts, collectors and people who class MG as their dream car.

NOTEWORTHY POINTS

With such extensive history, there have been many notable points over the years for MG. Among these points, the date 16th May 1956 marked the 100,000th MG to ever be made.

In 1962, full production of MGs moved to Longbridge after a decade of designing and manufacturing engines for the A and B-series. The millionth MG car was built in October 1975 – a unique LHD MGB roadster that was custom painted in Brooklands Green, complete with Jubilee GT livery and wheels.

The Rover Group revived the two-seater with the MG RV8 in 1992. The all-new MGF went on sale in 1995, becoming the first mass-produced "real" MG sports car since the MGB ceased production in 1980.

Following the May 2000 purchase of the MG and Rover brands by the Phoenix Consortium and the forming of the new MG Rover Group, the MG range was expanded in the summer of 2001 with the introduction of three sports models based on the contemporary range of Rover cars. The MG ZR was based on the Rover 25, the MG ZS on the Rover 45, and the MG ZT/ZT-T on the Rover 75.

MG Rover Group was formed on Tuesday 9th May 2000, following the company’s separation from the BMW group.

On 16th April 2002, the company produced its 1,500,000th MG – a Golden Jubilee celebration special TF 160.

The MG Rover Group purchased Qvale, which had taken over development of the De Tomaso Bigua. This car, renamed the Qvale Mangusta and already approved for sale in the United States, formed the basis of the MG XPower SV, an "extreme" V8-engined sports car. It was revealed in 2002 and went on sale in 2004.

In 2005, the MG Rover Group entered administration and was purchased by China’s oldest carmaker – Nanjing Automobile who took over the MG marque and the Longbridge plant. Two years later in December 2007, this company merged with China’s largest car manufacturer and became the SAIC Motor Corporation Limited - leading to the re-appearance of MG on the world map as MG Motor!

Under the direction of of the Chinese state-owned SAIC Motor Corporation Limited, the marque has gone from strength to strength and in 2021 global sales soared past 500,000 and in 2022, MG brand vehicles were among the top 10 selling vehicles in 20 countries.

Their latest release is the stunning new all-electric MG roadster, known as Cyberstar, which first appeared in May 2020 as a concept for a successor to the TF.  It is scheduled to arrive in the UK and Europe in the summer of 2024.