Fantasy Forecourt
Common as muck... or popular for a reason?
If they had the money, which MGB would the PC team members go for?
The MGB. A favourite topic for armchair experts. The ultimate anti-classic for some, the ultimate classic for others, an excellent ‘practical classic’ to us. We often get criticised for featuring it too often in the magazine. Well, that’s possibly the fault of the 523,836 owners who bought the ’B, ’C and V8 over the years. It was the most popular sports car in the world and that means that one thing is certain… if you are after one today, you are spoilt for choice.
The choice isn’t simply limited to soft or hard top, as there is a big variety in the engine and trim department as well. This article takes a peek at the main variants and gives you an eductaed (ish) guide through them all with the aim of helping you decide if you want chrome or not, or a specific number of cylinders (four, six or eight). It also gives us the chance to have a virtual pub chat about which ones we would choose.
Why are we doing this now? Well, the sad passing of the car’s stylist, Don Hayter, in November 2020 gave us the impetus. A delightful man and a seriously underrated talent, too. He managed to create a mini Aston
on a tiny budget and, even more impressively, with almost no money at all, saved the MG production lines by creating the rubber bumper version after legislation forced MG’S hand.
So here we go. Which of the MGB variants would you choose? Here are our preferences, based on value, style, performance, comfort and practicality.