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The MG letters are derived from the initials of Morris Garages Ltd, which was a distributor for Morris Cars Ltd from 1913 until the late 1920s.
- In 1922 Cecil Kimber became General Manager of Morris Garages and in 1923 he started to produce customised Morris cars.
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These “specials” became known as “Morris Garage Chummys”. Within a year, possibly initially along with the Morris badge, the distinctive octagon MG badge started to appear.
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The 1924 14/28 MG Super Sports Morris is considered by many to be the first car fitted with the MG badge (fitted on the car’s running boards). 440 were built between 1924 and 1927.
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This 1,802 cc model, which had a top speed of 65 mph (104 kph), consisted of a new sports body fitted to a Morris Oxford chassis.
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Just before Cecil Kimber’s death in 1945 he referred to a car called “Old Number One” (FC 7900) as the “first M.G. car I ever built.” The MG badge was fitted on the side of the car.
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The car had a 1,496 cc Hotchkiss four-cylinder engine and produced about 38 bhp. The car was registered in March 1925, just prior to the competitive event for which it was built.
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In 1927 Morris Garages introduced the MG 14/40 model.
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This was followed in 1928 by the MG 18/80, a car considered to be the first purpose built MG. In addition to its specially designed chassis, the Morris type bullnose radiator was replaced on this model with the now traditional MG grille.
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In 1929 MG cars produced M-Type Midget, the first in a long line of “Midget” sports cars models.
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Company records are said to indicate that the M.G. Car Company Ltd (Reg # 249645) was formed in 1930. In what month? In that year MG built about 1,000 cars.
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The first car produced in 1930 by the newly formed Company was the MG 18/100 “Tigress” racing car. Two further racing cars were produced in the 1930s, the Q-Type in 1934 and the R-Type in 1935.
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In 1935 the M.G. Car Company was sold to Morris Motors Ltd.
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Up to the start of World War 2 in 1939 the company produced more than 10 different sports models, a small salon car, the MG KN (1933-34), another medium sized car, the MG VA (1937-39) and the two larger salon cars, the MG SA (1936-39) and the WA (1938-39).
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The first car produced after World War 2 was the 1,250 cc MG TC Midget, a sports car that had a top speed of 78 mph (125 kph). Between 1945 and 1949 over 10,000 were built.
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In 1947 MG introduced the YA Type, a medium sized saloon car that had been developed by late 1939. Nearly 6,200 of these cars were built up to 1951.
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During the 1950s MG also produced the TD (1950-53), the TF (1953-55), the 1,488 cc MGA (1955-62) ( 101,081 MGA cars were built) and three Magnette models, the ZA, ZB & Mk lll (1953-61).
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Between 1961 and 1968 the company produced the Mk lV Magnette.
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The 1,798 cc MGB was produced from 1962 to 1980, a car with a top speed of 105 mph (168 kph). Including a GT version, over 500,000 of these cars were built. In 1975 an MGB became the one millionth MG car.
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In 1962 the company also started production of their MG 1100 model, with nearly 117,000 being built by 1967. MG also produced the 1300 model from 1967 to 1973.
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Other models produced up to 2007 include the MG Midget, MGC, RV8, MGF & TF, Maestro, Montego, Metro, MG ZR, ZS & ZT, MG 3, MG 7 and the MG XPower SV.
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Between 1935 and 2007 MG has been owned by Morris Motors & the Nuffield Organisation (1935-52), BMC (1952-68), BLMC (1968-86), Rover Group (1986-88), BAe (1988-94), BMW (1994-2000), the MG Rover Group (2000-05) and the Nanjing Automobile Group of China since 2005.
- William Richard Morris formed WRM Motors in 1912 and by 1913 he had produced his first car, the 1018 cc two-seater Morris Oxford (Bullnose).
- By the end of 1914, including a coupe version, over 1300 of these cars had been built.
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In 1915 the company introduced a larger car, the 1.5 litre 4-seater Morris Cowley. Between 1915 and 1917 just over 1,140 Morris Cowley and Oxford cars were produced.
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In 1919 WRM Motors ceased trading and Morris Motors Ltd was established.
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In 1926, just before the renowned “Bullnose” radiator was replaced by a flat one, the Cowley and Oxford models accounted for over 40% of all British car production. Production of these first two models ceased in the mid 1930s.
- In 1928 the company produced the first in a range of Morris Minor models. Between 1928 and 1933 over 86,000 of these 847 cc cars were built. The model was replaced by the Morris Eight.
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Production of the Morris 8 (hp) started in 1935, with the 100,000th being delivered on 30 June 1936. Within 3 years nearly 220,000 were built, including the updated Series 1, Series 2 and Series E.
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A wide range of other models were produced during the 1930s, including the 1,938 and 2,062 cc Oxford Six (1929-33), the Isis (1930-35), the 16 & 20 models, with over 6,300 produced (1934-35), the 14/16/18 range (1935-39), the Morris 10 (1933-48) and the Morris 8 (1935-48).
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In 1937 the Morris Company became Europe’s largest vehicle manufacturer and by 1939 it was the first British company to produce one million vehicles.
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In 1938 Morris Motors Ltd merged with the MG Car Company and Riley to form the Nuffield Organisation.
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Production resumed after World Two (1939-45) with the pre-war Morris 8 and 10. In 1948 the model 8 was replaced by the Morris Minor and the model 10 by the Morris Oxford. The Morris Six MS was also introduced in 1948.
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Between 1948 and 1971 three versions of the Morris Minor were produced; the 918 cc MM model (1948-53), the 803 cc Series 2 (1952-56) and the 948 and 1098 cc Morris 1000, of which nearly 850,000 were built (1956-71).
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In 1961 the one millionth Morris Minor was built, the first British car to achieve this figure.
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The 1,476 cc Morris Oxford MO model was produced from 1948 to 1954 and nearly 160,000 were built. The 40.5 hp (30 kW) car had a top speed of 72 mph (115 kph).
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Between 1954 and 1961 four further versions of the Morris Oxford, all with a 1,489 cc engine, were produced.
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The Hindustan Ambassador produced in India (1958 and still in production in 2007) was based upon the Oxford lll model. See Part 2, Section 8.9.1.
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The final version was the 1,622 cc Oxford Vl (1961-71), of which over 208,000 were built.
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In 1952 the Nuffield Organisation merged with the Austin Motor Company to become the British Motor Corporation (BMC). In 1968 BMC became part of British Leyland Motor Corporation and then British Leyland in 1975.
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The “Mini” car was first produced in 1959 and was originally sold by BMC as both the Austin 7 and the Morris Mini-Minor. In North America and France it was called the Austin 850 and Morris 850.
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The car was first named the “Mini” in 1961.
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It was the first front wheel drive car in the world with a traverse fitted engine. This two-door car had an 848 cc engine and was only 10 feet (305 cm) long. It had a top speed of 72 mph (115 kph).
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The Mini Cooper version was produced in 1964 with a 997 cc engine, which was later increased to 1,275 cc, giving the car a top speed of 98 mph (157 kph).
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When production of the Mini Cooper ceased in 1971 150,000 had been built. A newer version was introduced in 1990.
- In 2000, when production of the Mini ended, over 5.3 million had been built. During this time three upgrades had taken place; the Mk ll, the Clubman and the Mk lll, plus an estate version and the Mini Moke.
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In 2001 BMW produced a newly styled Mini One and Mini Cooper.
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Other Morris cars produced include the 1100, with over 800,000 built (1962-71), the 1300 (1967), the 1800 (1966-75) and the Marina (1971-80).
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The Ital model (1980-84) was the last car to carry the Morris name.
