T heMG Midget is to many the archetypal classic small sports car. Front-engined and rearwheel drive, it boasts simple mechanicals, excellent parts availability and plenty of fun for what can be a very attractive price. It’s little surprise, then, that it continues to enjoy a buoyant following.
The Midget was in production for more than 18 years from 1961 until late 1979, but it wasn’t a clean-sheet design. It was essentially an updated Austin-Healey Sprite, a car launched in 1958 with the oily bits from the Austin A35. The revamped Mk2 Sprite arrived three years later, with a remodelled rear end to include proper access to the boot and the ‘Frogeye’ clamshell with its famous upright headlights superseded by conventional wings and a separate bonnet.
A badge-engineered MG version was inevitable. After all, the Sprite was already made at MG’s Abingdon factory, and the octagon badge was still synonymous with small sports cars. MG certainly played on this by reviving the Midget name first ascribed to the M Type of 1929.
Launched in July 1961, the new Midget only had minor differences from the Sprite but brought sub- 1000cc motoring back to MG enthusiasts for the first time since 1936. That was short-lived however, as the following year saw the 948cc engine replaced by a 56bhp 1098cc version with an improved gearbox and disc brakes.
For at least five years, development was almost continuous. The 1964 introduction
