I didn't really want to include this in my Sebring post, even
though it is very related.
This is the story of a pipe dream, an automotive what if.
Just think about it...
In a brilliant marketing move, Rover Cars N. America releases
the MGF in its most promising market yet. Pitted against Miatas,
MR-2 Spyders, Z3s and numerous other convertibles, the "sports car
America loved first" has returned to her shores.
The marketing campaign includes the sexy and the nostalgic, reminding
us that you *can* do it in an MG, and reflecting on the sports car
marque that was winning races when Herr Porsche was still a Hitler
youth.
As before the cars are bought by folks with a love a life (and things
a little different). And, as before, the new MGs show up at club
races and autocrosses, proving once again the best sports car is one
that, well, is sported.
Instead of being remembered as unreliable, silly old cars, the MG T types
As, Bs, Cs, and Midgets, in light of the 'F's considerable success, are
now remembered as romantic joys from a simpler time, not only be the
folks that always loved them, but by the public at large.
Modified MGFs make their way into many racing series, including the
production based GT classes of the American Le Mans series. Daytona,
Sebring, Laguna Seca, and many other grand old tracks welcome the
Octagon back to the realm of international sports car racing.
As happened before, some cars are modified. Eventually, on a rainy
evening early in the year, from a barn somewhere in the mid-west, a
Team unveils the new GT Prototype MG racer. Typcial of modern GT
cars, the machine is constructed of advanced composites, with a computer
controlled fuel injected alloy V-8 mounted midships.
The lines of the car are enhanced by computer aided design. At the
speeds a modern GT racer reaches, careful consideration of aerodynamics
is critical. But, in those calculated shapes, once can see a little
bit of MGA here, some MGB there. Yes, the car is indeed an MG, not
only because of the British Racing Green paint and octagonal badging.
The Team and its cars go on to compete at the highest levels of sports
car racing. Entries are even fielded at Le Mans. The successes finally
bring the marque to the point that it should have been many years ago,
before idiotic safety and emissions legislation and blundering bottom
line suits choked the life from the old brick factory in Abingdon....
...just an idea.
-Keith Wheeler
Team Sanctuary http://www.TeamSanctuary.com/
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