MG MGB (United Kingdom, 1962-1980)

The MG B sports car came out in May 1962 and although it was originally meant to stay in production for about 5 years, it had such a tremendous sales success that it actually ended up living for 18 years, until October 1980.

Launched to replace the preceding – and aged – MG A model, the MG B ended up proving to be Britain’s best selling sports car. The MG B coupes and roadsters are said to have been conceived under MG’s search for the best combination between comfort and performance.

MG introduced and began producing the MG B model in 1962, initially to take the old MG A’s place in the market and hold it for some 5 years. The lightweight MG B had far more success than what the company expected and ended up staying in production until 1980.
At the end of its 18-year lifetime, nearly 515.000 MG B units had been manufactured.

MG B receives its power from a front-mounted 1.8-liter (1798 cc) B-Series engine that outputs 95 hp. The car can go from 0 to 60 mi/h (97 km/h) in about 11 seconds.
In the United States’ market, however, MG Bs were detuned since 1974 in order to meet the more restrict emissions rules there.
The MG B’s rear-wheel drive system is assisted by a 4-speed manual transmission.

Steel unibody/monocoque structure.   Platform (no data)   Suspension (no data)   Steering Rack-and-pinion.   Brakes Front discs and rear drums.

In 1957, Italian designer Frua was given the task of styling the car that would later be the MG B, although the original closed car design was developed to create a roadster styling. After the convertible MG B, a coupe version (MG B GT) was also launched in 1965.
When it came out, this lightweight model was considered to have been given a considerably forward-looking styling.