Page 24 - Nov 2022

According to the MG Owners'' Club website, the MG
Magnette was introduced to the motoring public in
1953 at the Leeds Motor Show. Completely different
from any other MG that had ever been produced, the
small family saloon car, that also resembled much
larger Jaguar saloons of the period, had a mixed
reception. Some enthusiasts loved the idea of an
economical family car, nicely fitted with a classic
wood appointed British style interior, as seen in Bob
Tanner's car, with sports car aspirations and an
Italian design pedigree; others were less sure. But
today, one thing is almost certain: if you bring an
MG Magnette to a car show, you are likely to have
the only example on display.

From 1953-1958, the Magnette in ZA and ZB variants
resulted in the total production of 36,600 cars. Some
of them in LH drive configurations made their way to
the United States where they were advertised, thusly,
in this ad for the earlier ZA edition.

The four seater Magnette, made good, selling over 6,000 units a year. The car was praised for its
excellent road handling characteristics. According to The MG Owners' Club: " the ZB version was capable
of over 90 mph making the ZB Magnette the fastest 1.5 litre saloon available in Britain at the time.... It
was proven by the fact that it won its class in the BRSCC Saloon Car Championship in 1958. The ZB also
displayed several interior detail improvements over its predecessor and was also improved styling-wise
with the Varitone model. This employed a two-tone colour, with a pinstripe separating the two tones, and
became an immediate success despite the criticism it received upon its launch.
The Magnette was the first MG to employ a body of monocoque construction, that is to say it was not
built on a separate chassis, with the bodyshell providing mountings for the engine, gearbox and
suspension. This type of construction was rapidly becoming popular in the 1950's in view of the fact that
the whole car could be made much lighter but still retaining strength, also when mass produced, the unit
costs dropped dramatically."

Nice examples like Bob Tanner's can still be found at reasonable price points. Could this little classic be
your next MG? There's time to start the hunt before next year's show.
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