ROUND 6: FARINA MAGNETTE

Oh dear. You know how sometimes you look at two boxers stepping into the ring and they appear so poorly matched that your stomach turns over and you can't help thinking that one of them is going to get seriously hurt? This round makes me think of that. It's like watching Frank Bruno square off against Mike Tyson, or when Wrexham, who had finished bottom of the entire football league the previous season, faced Arsenal who were the current League champions in the FA cup. (For the record, Bruno rocked Tyson with one mighty punch but was otherwise largely on the receiving end in a bout he lost, but Wrexham scored twice in the last ten minutes to emerge 2-1 victors.)

I don't think this is over-stating the danger in a fight between the Farina Magnette and Triumph's 2000. After all, one received nothing but praise and adulation from day one, while the other could barely find anybody with a kind word to say about it in a production run that lasted from 1958-1968. Still, if the Triumph Mayflower has shown us anything, it is that you discount the underdog at your peril. So gird your loins, we're going in!

We saw earlier how the Z-Type Magnette was regarded with suspicion at the outset, but the MkIII Magnette was greeted with outright hostility at its launch in 1958. That wasn't just because it was built away from the mother factory in Abingdon, but largely because it embodied none of the characteristics that MG had built up since 1923 to define their brand. Well, that's not entirely true because the company had produced some relatively unsporting saloons in the past, but nothing quite on this scale – over-bodied, underpowered and about as lithe as a chocoholic after they've been accidentally locked in the Cadbury factory over a bank holiday weekend, it is not overstating the case to say that MG fans were appalled.

What made it worse was the fact that the ZB Magnette it replaced had still been selling strongly, though a desire to free up

CLASSICS MONTHLY

NOVEMBER 2021 more production space at Abingdon for the MGA was part of the equation. The new car was to be built at Cowley, and was little more than an A55 MkII Austin Cambridge/ Morris Oxford Series V, as styled by Pininfarina. Under the bonnet was a 1489cc B-series engine, but while this unit provided sparkling performance in the 917kg MGA, it had its work cut out in a Magnette weighing in at 1122kg and with far more dubious aerodynamics. To make matters worse, little was done to turn it into an MG other than to slap some badges on and fit a different grille and dash. It could manage to reach 86mph and get to 60mph from rest in 20.6 seconds, but its handling was definitely on the stodgy side of porridge.

Now I do realise that all of the preceding ramble is not exactly what you would call an effective sales pitch, but

I do have a guilty secret to confess – I love the Farina Magnette! Exactly why is hard to explain, but if you think that a thin Bakelite steering wheel with a big chrome horn ring is the height of automotive eroticism, then you will understand. This car is not so much a piece of automotive history as it is social history – it was unashamedly middle class at a time when your choice of marque and model spoke volumes about you and your values. The Triumph 2000 may have called to the thrusting executive who wanted to go places, but the honest and dependable Magnette was perfect for the person who was comfortable with where they already were.

It got better over time, too. In October 1961 the MkIV arrived, with an engine enlarged to 1622cc. It also had numerous improvements to the suspension and steering including a longer wheelbase, wider track and anti-roll bars, all of which sharpened up the handling, (though do remember it was starting from a low base!). Oh, and there was the option of a fully automatic gearbox too, a first for MG.

Unfortunately, as I have discovered, this is now probably one of the rarest postwar MGs of all time. The inherent strength of the design made it a favourite choice with banger racers, and many of those that weren't simply scrapped by uncaring owners ended their days in one final bid for glory on the track. However, rarity has its own appeal and competition for the cars that remain is now fierce. I spent around three years looking for one to buy not too long ago, but prices were going up more quickly than I could tip money into the purchase pot. I remember visiting a big MG show at Pately Bridge one year where there was just one Farina Magnette in a display