Last month, H&H auctioned several MG cars. Robin Batchelor wrote a lovely article about it and mentioned the six-cylinder MG Magnette.
Last week I had the chance to drive this car with its new owner. The catalogue editor of H&H was correct; the car is restored to a very high standard. It is actually nearly new (or mayby better). So I thought this is the perfect ride to get some breakfast, so off we went to the local pub. Although still local, we thought it better to add a few extra miles (so far only 172 miles since the restoration) so we went to a pub a bit further down the road.Before I saw the car in 'the flesh', my expactations were that it would be more or less like my Riley Lynx. Both built in 1934, same body style, both a small 6 cylinder. But after seeing and driving it, I find it hard to compare the two.
The MG is a much smaller fit. Yet it has those lovely suicide doors, so getting in is not the problem. It's only that gearshifter between driver and passenger (and some more levers) that results in very limited space (my Riley has a preselector handle on the steering column). which is a bit of a shame. The car has enough power for fast driving but
the lack of space adds to feelings of discomfort and takes out most of the fun of lively touring as pictured above.
For that I probably need to loose some weight by choosing fruit for breakfast during the next 20,000 miles.
Words and pictures: Laurens Klein , period photo provided by owner