>It makes more sense when one realizes that all the early MG sport
>cars were called midgets to differentiate them from the saloons.
Almost correct:
During the heyday of MG overhead cam engined cars - 1932 - 1936 there were
actually 3 MG sports car lines - the Midget, the Magna, and the Magnette.
The midget was the low-end car, typified by the C, the J, and the P. The
Magna was often a six-cylinder version of the Midget and somewhat more
up-market - typified by the F and the L. The Magnette was more aimed at the
international racing crowd. The pinnacle of the Magnette production was most
certainly the K3, but there were a few other cars of the period whick
carried that name.
The Magna label didn't seem to survive this period, but certainly both the
Midget and Magnette names went on to become other cars in later periods. The
Magnette label was most recently carried by the ZA and ZB cars of the 50s
and 60s. I believe the MG 1300 also carried the Magnette name.
The Midget name was carried pretty much through the entire period. First by
the M type of 1929-1932, later by the C, J, P, and T series up through 1955.
Perhaps because the factory wanted to break with the past, it was not
officially carried by the MGA, but made its reappearance on the modern
Midget. The Midget name came to signify an entry-level sports car,
affordable by the average enthusiast, "cheap and cheerful", if you will.
Regards,
Lew Palmer
lew.palmer@uci.com
|