MG M-type
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The MG M-type (also known as the MG Midget) is a
sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...
that was produced by
MG Cars 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. Since 2007 the marque has been contro ...
from April 1929 until 1932. It was sometimes referred to as the 8/33. Launched at the 1928
London Motor Show London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thame ...
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.


Sports car

The M-Type was one of the first genuinely affordable
sports cars A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1910s and ar ...
to be offered by an established manufacturer, as opposed to modified versions of factory-built saloon cars and tourers. By offering a car with excellent road manners and an entertaining driving experience at a low price (the new MG cost less than double the cheapest version of the Morris Minor on which it was based) despite relatively low overall performance the M-type set the template for many of the MG products that were to follow, as well as many of the other famous British sports cars of the 20th century. The M-type was also the first MG to wear the
Midget Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a Medical terminology, medical term like ''dwarf'' (for a person with d ...
name that would be used on a succession of small sports cars until 1980. This 2-door sports car used an updated version of the four-cylinder bevel-gear driven
overhead camshaft An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustio ...
engine used in the 1928
Morris Minor The Morris Minor is an economy car produced by British marque Morris Motors between 1948 and 1971. It made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6  ...
and Wolseley 10 with a single SU carburettor giving at 4000 rpm. Drive was to the rear wheels through a three-speed non-
synchromesh A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system where gear changes ...
gearbox. The chassis was based on the one used in the 1928 Morris Minor with lowered suspension using half-elliptic springs and Hartford friction disk shock absorbers with rigid front and rear axles and bolt on wire wheels. The car had a wheelbase of 78 inches (1980 mm) and a track of 42 inches (1067 mm). While the braking system of the Morris Minor used bare wire cables with pulleys at the front to enable the cables to be routed so as to pull the brake levers (which were behind and below the axle) forward, the M.G. M Type used rods and Bowden cables to operate the front brakes and Bowden cables, but no rods, to operate the back brakes. The M initially retained the transmission brake. 1930 brought a series of improvements to the car. The rod and Bowden cable brake system, with the handbrake working on the transmission, was replaced by a full Bowden cable system - without the rods - and with the cross shaft coupled to the handbrake and the transmission brake deleted. Engine output was increased to by improving the camshaft and a four-speed gearbox was offered as an option. The doors became front-hinged. A supercharged version could be ordered from 1932, raising the top speed to . Early bodies were fabric-covered using a wood frame; this changed to all-metal in 1931. Most cars had bodies made by
Carbodies Carbodies was a Hackney carriage, taxi design and manufacturing company based in Coventry, England. In its latter years it also traded as London Taxis International and The London Taxi Company. It operated a coachbuilding business on Holyhe ...
of
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
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. The car could reach 65 mph (105 km/h) and return 40 miles per gallon. The open version cost £175 at launch, soon rising to £185, and the coupé cost £245. The 1932 supercharged car cost £250. The M-type had considerable sporting success, both privately and with official teams winning gold medals in the 1929 Land's End Trial and class wins in the 1930 "Double Twelve" race at
Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
. An entry was also made in the 1930 Le Mans 24 hour, but neither of the cars finished.


Gallery

MG M-Type 1929 2.jpg, M.G. M-type Midget 2-Seater Sports 1929 MG M-Type 1929.jpg, M.G. M-type Midget 2-Seater Sports 1929 MG M-Type 1930 2.jpg, M.G. M-type Midget 2-Seater Sports 1930 MG M-Type 1930 3.jpg, M.G. M-type Midget 2-Seater Sports 1930 MG M-Type 1930.jpg, M.G. M-type Midget 2-Seater Sports 1930 MG Midget 1930.jpg, M.G. M-type 1930 MG M-Type 1931.jpg, M.G. M-type Midget 2-Seater Sports 1931 1930MG-M-Type.jpg, M.G. M-type 1930


References

* {{refend M-type 1930s cars 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars Cars introduced in 1929 Cars discontinued in 1932