Revell 1/18 MGA Roadster Soft Top Open White (08447)

The first MG was created in 1923 by Cecil Kimber the Manager of the Morris Garage (MG) in Oxford, to be followed by a variety of sports, racing and also luxury cars, which enhanced the worldwide reputation of the MG name. After the war MGs were first produced by the Nuffield Group, until it merged with the Austin Motor Company to form the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1952. This brought the MG into competition with the Austin Healey within the same group. Consequently Leonard Lord, former chief executive of Austin and later of BMC. preferred to mass produce the Austin Healey 100 and rejected the new MG concept that Syd Enever had designed for the 1951 races in Le Mans. The variant that was redesigned to become the successor to the MG TD however was blessed with greater success. This car was now equipped with the popular BMC type B engine which was more economical in production. After participating at Le Mans in 1955, this MGA 1500 was exhibited at the Frankfurt IAA motor show in September 1955. The A in the name stood for a new era. The MG design was characterised by sleek elegant lines, in total contrast to its sharp-cornered predecessor which nevertheless had an angular charm. After sales topped 58,000, in August 1959 this model was followed by the MGA 1600, equipped with a 1588 cc, 79.5 bhp, 4-cylinder engine and disc brakes on the front wheels. 31,501 buyers enthused over the MGA which had a top speed of 160 km/h.