MGB: THE SUPERLATIVE MG

New from The Crowood Press, David Knowles has written a truly comprehensive history of the MGB. Knowles is no newcomer to the MGB – over the years I’ve reviewed two other books on the same subject from him – but in this new and incredibly detailed book, Knowles gathers up all this previous knowledge of the MGB and manages to pack in even more detail, a lot of which will be new even for outand-out MGB enthusiasts. For instance, in 1962 Renault filed a complaint to the effect that the MGB’s iconic headlamp nacelle design had been stolen from the French automaker’s Caravelle/Floride coupé and roadster. At the time, MG pooh-poohed the very idea. However, Knowles has since unearthed a photo of a Floride taken at the Geneva Motor Show by John O’Neill – a member of the MGB development team – on which Syd Enever had penciled in his idea of a future MGB grille!

The book covers a huge history - from the design team’s initial thoughts on a successor to the MGA, the Pininfarina-designed GT, the V8 models including the limited production RV8, through to the failed interlude with Aston Martin, the political shenanigans brought by MG’s later involvement with BMC and British Leyland and, sadly, the final auction of the MG factory contents in March 1981. All the highs – and all the lows – everything’s included. Even if you own Knowles’ previous books on the MGB, you’ll want to add this definitive new volume to your collection.

[Many thanks to Ian Grant of the MG Car Club for the loan of his copy of MGB: The Superlative MG (ISBN 978 1 78500 941 9 RRP $99.95]