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.

Dating from January 1958, this stunning LHD car is one of those American exports. Not much is known of the early history of the car but various documents on file show that it was restored in around 2008 by a firm in Missouri with the spectacular results that you see today.

Recently imported to the UK with all duties paid, the car is said to drive superbly and certainly started promptly and ran sweetly as we moved it around on the occasion of our visit to take these photos. A beautiful car in all respects, it comes with a hood and sidescreens, all in excellent condition, a V5C and an owner’s handbook.