ROUND 1: MG Y-TYPE vs TRIUMPH MAYFLOWER

n the red corner for MG in round one is the Y-Type, a great all-rounder. Powered by a single-carburettor XPAG engine of 1250cc, it could amble from 0-60mph in around 30 seconds. Actually, referring to it as an amble is rather unfair, because the 1940s were a different time and at launch in 1947, the Y-Type was just about the most powerful car in its class with a maximum of 46bhp delivered at 4800rpm. The brand new Austin A40 Devon with its 1200cc engine, for example, had just 40bhp and recorded a time of 37.2 seconds for the same sprint. And remember, we are talking family saloon cars here anyway, not sports cars. Essentially the same XPAG engine as found in the Y-Type was tuned to 54.4bhp in the MG TC and that could reach 60mph from rest in just 22.7 seconds, but the little sportster