For sale by auction on Saturday 1st September 2012 with Historics at Brooklands, Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit, Weybridge, Surrey.

•Registration: 656 YUK

•Chassis Number: HDK4363874

•Engine Number: 63874

•Estimate: £19,000 - £23,000

When the MGA arrived in 1955, it must have come as quite a shock to MG aficionados who had become used to the pre-war look of the company's sports cars. The MGA was a complete departure in styling. Its beautiful streamlined body was right up to the minute in terms of appearance and it was powered by a new engine as MG had decided that the old XPAG unit had had its day. The MGA was powered by the much more modern B-series engine that had made its debut in the recently announced Magnette saloon. MG enthusiasts had been given a hint of what was to come as early as 1951 when George Phillips drove a re-bodied TD Midget in the Le-Mans 24 hour endurance race. The car had been built for him by MG following his successes with his own TC which had been fitted with a lightweight two-seat race car style body. So different was the appearance of his new TD racer, that it must have been difficult to believe that it was actually a venerable TD Midget underneath! It was a road-going version of the Phillips car which had been proposed to BMC in 1952 as a replacement for the TD Midget but which had been turned down because of the corporation's decision to build the Austin-Healey 100. MG had gone as far as building a full prototype of the MGA by using TD running gear, the 1250 XPAG engine, a re-designed chassis and the MGA bodywork. When it eventually became clear that the TF Midget was a bit of a lame duck and that it would have to be replaced, the new MG sports car was finally given the chance it deserved. The delay in production had one advantage in that it allowed MG to refine the design and install the much newer 1489cc, four cylinder B-series engine and its transmission from the Magnette saloon.

Originally a US specification model, this lefthand drive roadster has indeed been imported from California, where it was supplied new, by its owner early this year. In good all round condition, it was restored to a very high standard in the United States about ten years ago and is now finished in British Racing Green with black interior and black weather equipment. Recent work carried out is the a new exhaust system, and a new dynamo and regulator fitted making this car a very useable classic. This MGA 1600cc is supplied with a V5C registration document, an MoT test certificate which expires July 2013, copies of invoices relating to the parts fitted in the United Kingdom and a copy of the Californian title certificate. This is an extremely pretty classic British motorcar in good order throughout.

http://www.historics.co.uk/buying/online-catalogue/mga.aspx