The MG M-type (also known as the MG Midget) is a

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

that was produced by the

MG Cars MG is a British automotive marque founded by Cecil Kimber in the 1920s, and M.G. Car Company Limited was the British sports car manufacturer that made the marque famous. Best known for its open two-seater sports cars, MG also produced salo ...

from April 1929 until 1932. It was sometimes referred to as the 8/33. Launched at the 1928

London Motor Show London Motor Show, formerly the London Motorfair, is a motor show in England. It was held biannually at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, from 1977 to 1999. When the event won the support of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and P&O ...

when the sales of the larger MG saloons was faltering because of the economic climate, the small car brought MG ownership to a new sector of the market and probably saved the company. Early cars were made in the Cowley factory, but from 1930 production had transferred to Abingdon.

Sports car

The M-Type was one of the first genuinely affordable

sports cars A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

to be offered by an established manufacturer, as opposed to modified versions of factory-built saloon cars and tourers. By offering a car with excellent road manners and an entertaining driving experience at a low price (the new MG cost less than double the cheapest version of the Morris Minor on which it was based) despite relatively low overall performance the M-type set the template for many of the MG products that were to follow, as well as many of the other famous British sports cars of the 20th century. The M-type was also the first MG to wear the

Midget Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ca ...

name that would be used on a succession of small sports cars until 1980. This 2-door sports car used an updated version of the four-cylinder bevel-gear driven

overhead camshaft An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...

engine used in the 1928

Morris Minor The Morris Minor is a British economy family car that made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1972 in ...

and Wolseley 10 with a single

SU carburettor SU carburettors were a British manufacturer of constant-depression carburettors. Their designs were in mass production during most of the twentieth century. The S.U. Carburetter Company Limited also manufactured dual-choke updraught carburetto ...

giving at 4000 rpm. Drive was to the rear wheels through a three-speed non- synchromesh gearbox. The chassis was based on the one used in the 1928 Morris Minor with lowered suspension using half-elliptic springs and Hartford

friction disk shock absorber Friction disk shock absorbers or André Hartford dampers were an early form of shock absorber or damper used for car suspension. They were commonly used in the 1930s but were considered obsolete post-war. Origins The friction disk pattern was in ...

s with rigid front and rear axles and bolt on wire wheels. The car had a wheelbase of 78 inches (1980 mm) and a track of 42 inches (1067 mm). While the braking system of the Morris Minor used bare wire cables with pulleys at the front to enable the cables to be routed so as to pull the brake levers (which were behind and below the axle) forward, the M.G. M Type used rods and Bowden cables to operate the front brakes and Bowden cables, but no rods, to operate the back brakes. The M initially retained the transmission brake. 1930 brought a series of improvements to the car. The rod and Bowden cable brake system, with the handbrake working on the transmission, was replaced by a full Bowden cable system - without the rods - and with the cross shaft coupled to the handbrake and the transmission brake deleted. Engine output was increased to by improving the camshaft and a four-speed gearbox was offered as an option. The doors became front-hinged. A supercharged version could be ordered from 1932, raising the top speed to . Early bodies were fabric-covered using a wood frame; this changed to all-metal in 1931. Most cars had bodies made by Carbodies of

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

and fitted by MG in either open two-seat or closed two-door "Sportsmans" coupé versions, but some chassis were supplied to external coachbuilders such as Jarvis. The factory even made a van version as a service vehicle. The car could reach 65 mph (105 km/h) and return 40 miles per gallon. The open version cost £175 at launch, soon rising to £185, and the coupé cost £245. The 1932 supercharged car cost £250. The M-type had considerable sporting success, both privately and with official teams winning gold medals in the 1929 Land's End Trial and class wins in the 1930 "Double Twelve" race at Brooklands. An entry was also made in the 1930 Le Mans 24 hour, but neither of the cars finished.

Gallery

MG M-Type 1929 2.jpg, M.G. M-type Midget 2-Seater Sports 1929 MG M-Type 1929.jpg, M.G. M-type Midget 2-Seater Sports 1929 MG M-Type 1930 2.jpg, M.G. M-type Midget 2-Seater Sports 1930 MG M-Type 1930 3.jpg, M.G. M-type Midget 2-Seater Sports 1930 MG M-Type 1930.jpg, M.G. M-type Midget 2-Seater Sports 1930 MG Midget 1930.jpg, M.G. M-type 1930 MG M-Type 1931.jpg, M.G. M-type Midget 2-Seater Sports 1931 1930MG-M-Type.jpg, M.G. M-type 1930

References

*{{Holmes-UltConv , pages=100–101 M-type 1930s cars 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars Cars introduced in 1929