MG Classics Cars Are Coming Back!

5
May

The first car I ever owned was an ancient yellow Honda Convertible S600, which my father gave to me when I was about seventeen years old. I loved it, it was going like a rocket, but also a huge gas and pocket money guzzler.

Honda Convertible S600 ( Not mine!)

If you just look at the spec’s and you understand why;
Some facts about the S600:

Engine capacity 606 cc
Horse power: 57 at 8500 rpm
Top speed: 90 mph
Redline: 9,500 RPM
Carburetors: 4
Convertible weight: 1576 pounds
First “mass marketed” Honda car
11,284 built between ‘64 and ‘66

But the first car ever I did get in love with was the car my mother drove when I was sixteen. It was a turquoise blue MG B, and while, admittedly, it had an annoying tendency to overheat on the way to the beach, when it was actually drive-able, it was a fabulous car - smooth, sexy, sporty - everything you want in a convertible. In retrospect, it�s probably good that she got rid of it before I was old enough to drive�or date.

But my love of the MG has stayed in the back of my head, so when I read an article last year which stated that a Chinese carmaker was reviving the British brand, I was well and truly psyched. Tonight, I am even more excited. Why? Because Motor Trend has pictures of the newly designed MG TF, a ragtop roadster that clearly isn�t quite ready for public consumption, but still brings to mind the classic British motor car. It�s now being produced by the Nanjing MG Motor Company, and it made it�s debut recently at the Shanghai Auto Show, next to the equally new (and much more street-ready) MG 5.

The TF�s engine, which is stuffed behind the seats, is a 1.8 liter and 134 horsepower while the MG 5, which is a four-door sedan, sports a slightly hardier 2.0 liter diesel engine. Both cars, as well as the MG 7, which was also shown, follow in the British design tradition of the original MG company, and were presented in Shanghai with all the trappings of a proper English tea setting them off.