MGB: THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY

Jonathan Wood and Lionel Burrell Published 2018 by Veloce, which supplied the review copy ISBN 978-1-787113-62-6 Review by Mark Holman

This book first appeared in 1988; this fourth edition has been updated, and now runs to 256 large pages with plenty of photos and some lovely colour illustrations.

Messrs Wood and Burrell really have given us a very comprehensive story of MG’S most successful model, as well as covering the development of the car itself. Full credit is paid throughout the book to men such as Syd Enever and John Thornley, who were crucial in bringing the B to market and to fighting in MG’S corner during the frequent turf battles within the various parent companies.

As early as 1957, the Italian carrozziere company Frua provided what I think was an elegant roadster body on an MGA chassis. A number of in-house versions came next, and, by 1960, EX124 was very close to the car that would be introduced as the MGB in 1962.

More than half a million MGBS were sold, with far smaller numbers of the C and V8 variants that also are covered in the book. The BGT came to market in 1965, and, throughout the model’s long life, there were constant updates to meet customer expectations and/or regulation changes in key markets — the most obvious of these being smog controls and the rubber bumpers imposed by US legislation.

The MGB — and, to a lesser extent, the C — proved to be a versatile and surprisingly successful race and rally car, and the 25-page chapter on competition models covers another fascinating part of the model’s history.

All in all, this interesting and well-written book should appeal to the many MGB owners and enthusiasts out there.