The Early Days of MG Midget Cars

The Early Days of MG Midget Cars


MG Midget CarsPicture MG Midget Cars

Back in the 1920's, the M-Type Midget had been developed from the baby Morris Minor. The result was a basic, cheap, fun two-seater, with sporting pretensions which triggered a whole dynasty of Midgets. It was the Midget series which had established MG as a manufacturer of sports cars with an excellent reputation in motor sport.




MG Midget-CarsPicture M-Type Midget Cars

This range of cars had culminated in the TF which was seen as a Midget too far. By the time it was laid to rest in 1955, the design was out of date and out of step with what was required, since sports cars were becoming bigger, more sophisticated, more powerful, and more expensive. It seemed doubtful that we would ever see a Midget again.



MG-Midget CarsPicture TF Midget Cars

In the late 1950's, yet another basic, cheap, fun two-seater was developed from a "baby" car. This time, the more modern equivalent of the old Austin Seven was used, the A30/35. This new two-seater car was the Austin Healey Sprite, which appeared in 1959 and was built at Abingdon. The Sprite was powered by an engine and transmission which had come straight from the Austin, and was a 948cc pushrod, overhead valve, four-cylinder A-series unit. In the Sprite however, it had been given twin SU carburettors and developed around 42bhp, which was sufficient to propel the little car to around 80mph. This car became known as the "Frogeye" Sprite due to its headlamps being set into the front of the one-piece front end, with a mouth-like grille being mounted on the front edge.



MG-Midget-CarsPicture Austin Healey Sprite Cars

In 1961, the bodywork of the Sprite came in for a major restyling. The central cockpit portion remained essentially the same, but the front and rear bodywork was completely restyled and redesigned to give the car a more conventional squared-off appearance. The engine and running gear was essentially the same as the earlier Sprite, but output was up to around 47bhp, which lead to increases in performance also.



MG Midget CarPicture Austin Healey Sprite Mark II Cars

In this form, the car was known as the Austin Healey Sprite Mark II, but shortly after a De Luxe version was announced. It had been re-badged to become known as the MG Midget.



MG Midget--Cars
Manufacturer : BMC
Production : 1961–1979 226,001 produced
Predecessor : MG TF
Class : Sports car
Body style(s) : 2-door roadster
Layout : FR layout
Engine(s) : 948 cc A-Series I4, 1098 cc A-Series I4, 1275 cc A-Series I4, 1493 cc Triumph I4
Wheelbase : 80 in (2,032 mm)
Length : 137 in (3,480 mm)
Width : Mk I and II 54 in (1,372 mm), Mk III and 1500 55 in (1,397 mm)
Height : 48.5 in (1,232 mm) (before springs enlarged for 1974 Rubber Bumper cars)
Curb weight : 735 kg (1,620 lb) (approx)
Fuel capacity : 27.5 L (7.3 US gal; 6.0 imp gal)(<1974)>1974)
Related : Austin-Healey Sprite


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