MGA 1500 Roadster

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The first truly modern MG, the MGA of 1955 was leagues ahead of anything the company had yet produced, their other post-war cars being nothing more than restyled pre-war designs.

Derived from MG designer Syd Enever’s streamlined 1952 Le Mans car, the beautifully sleek and understated body was the equal of anything the Italians had to offer and even made Jaguar’s XK120 roadster (to which it bore a passing resemblance) look lardy by comparison.

Of traditional body-on-frame design, the MGA also had a notably rigid structure devoid of the scuttle-shake that plagues so many other soft-tops. This is thanks to a triangulated bulkhead design that is not found on any other production sportscar, allied to a massively stiff chassis. The 1,498cc engine initially produced 68bhp but was quickly upgraded to 72bhp and, according to a 1955 road test in ‘The Motor’, gave the car a top speed of 97.8mph with a 0-60 time of 16 seconds and a fuel consumption of 26.7mpg.

Throw in its direct, vice-free rack and pinion steering, plus a great racing pedigree, and it's no wonder that the MGA has acquired such a devoted fan club over the years. The MGA remained in production until 1962 when it was replaced by the softer and rather less inspiring MGB, by which time 101,000 had been sold, the vast majority to the US market.

As the accompanying Heritage Certificate confirms, NDW 222 is a rare UK market car that was built in early March 1956 and was finished in Glacier Blue with a grey interior. The original buff log book shows that the first owner was one Humphrey Jones of Newport who presumably bought the car from local dealership Beechwood Motors whose plaque is still affixed to the dash. The car has only had five owners since, according to the V5, and was acquired by the vendor in 2005.

During his 10-year ownership the car has only covered some 4,000 miles and many old MOTs back to 1975 show that the indicated mileage has only risen from 31,490 to 39,144 these past four decades. A large history file back to the early 1990s shows regular maintenance and the vendor has been particularly fastidious in this regard with much money spent to keep the car in tip-top order, all fully detailed in the history file.

This included fitting a fully reconditioned MGA B-Series engine and gearbox supplied by Moss only 1,000 miles ago in July 2013 (the original engine number plaque being transferred to the new unit). A new propshaft and clutch kit were also fitted at the same time while other parts renewed in the current ownership include the water pump, radiator, windscreen, stainless steel exhaust, double duck hood, sidescreens (with flaps at the bottom to ease entry and exit) and tonneau cover.

Maintained regardless of cost and always kept garaged, the car is still in very smart condition throughout despite it being over 20 years since it was last repainted during a 1994 restoration. Said to drive as well as you would hope with an MOT until August 2016 (with no advisories recorded), the only known fault is the fuel gauge which can be erratic at times. A quantity of useful spares are also included along with a tailored outdoor car cover, a workshop manual and a parts book. What more could you want?