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M.G. History in a nutshell, the following information is from the official M.G.-Rover website........
Heritage The mere mention of M.G. is enough to make the eyes of motoring enthusiasts mist over. To fans of cars and driving, the famous octagonal badge represents the definitive British sports car. The latest embodiment of the M.G. sporting spirit is the stunning M.G. TF - a state of the art roadster inspired by the same passion for driving as the very first M.G.s all those years ago.
in the beginning... As any self-respecting car fan will tell you, the initials M.G. stand for Morris Garages. Back in 1921, shortly after the garages had opened, 33 year old Cecil Kimber joined as a sales manager. Kimber wasn't just a salesman: he was into automotive body styling, coach building and - here's the clue - driving sports cars.
1924, the first M.G. First cab off the rank for Cecil Kimber. 1922 saw Kimber become General Manager. The release of his first specially designed Morris car soon followed. But things really started happening in March 1924, when the first M.G. car proper was built. Based on a Morris Oxford chassis, the car that launched the M.G. legend was a sports tourer with four seats. A four door saloon model was also offered.
1925, M.G. strikes gold. By now, the company was really getting into its stride. A range of M.G. Super Sports models were produced, available in two-seat, four-seat or 'salonette' form. This year also saw the birth of the first ever purpose-built M.G. sports car: 'Old No.1'. It was made for the Land's End Trial, in which it won a gold medal.
1929, early success. As a result of the great success of the early M.G. cars, production had to be moved to larger premises - several times. In 1929, production started at Abingdon-on-Thames, where it stayed until 1980. In 1930, the M.G. Car Company Ltd was officially incorporated.
1930-35, the classic years. The early '30s were vintage years for driving enthusiasts. A wide range of four and six cylinder models were manufactured - mostly the kind of sports cars for which M.G. was rapidly becoming famous. A number of pure racing cars were also developed - cars which had great success in road and track competitions around the world.
1935, times changing. In 1935, big changes were afoot. Lord Nuffield, who up until this point, owned M.G. lock, stock and barrel, sold the company - plus Wolseley and his other business interests - to Morris Motors Ltd. The new company became known as The Nuffield Organization.
1952, the merger. Nuffield and Austin merged to form BMC. The Austin-Healey sports car was now a family rival for M.G..
1955, the M.G.A. a star is born. 1955 saw the launch of the M.G.A. Designed by Syd Enever, it was the first M.G. sports car with all-enveloping bodywork.
1957-59, the fastest ever M.G.. M.G. has an astounding history in international speed records, which culminated in the 1950s with the M.G. EX181. The car, nicknamed the "Roaring Raindrop" by its designer Syd Enever, had an extraordinarily original design based on an aircraft drop-tank. As a 1500cc class car the EX181, driven by none other than Sterling Moss, achieved 245.64 mph in 1957, 50 mph faster than he had ever driven in his life. Two years later the car, driven by Phil Hill, reached 254.91mph, making the EX181 the fastest ever M.G. - a record which still stands today.
1962, M.G.B. big brother is here. In 1962, the Midget's 'big brother', the 1800cc M.G.B, replaced the M.G.A. In 1965, a GT coupe version was introduced - known affectionately as 'the poor man's Aston Martin'. The M.G.B became a mainstay of M.G. production until the end of 1980. The MGB was the first unitary construction MG sports car, designed for high integrity without a roof. In GT form it is therefore rather like a bank vault. When John Thornley, General Manager of MG, negotiated the tooling cost of the MGB with the then independent Pressed Steel company, he only expected it to run until around 1970. On this assumption, he reduced the up-front charge from £628,000 to £280,000 by accepting an extra cost of £2 per bodyshell. When the MGB production had reached half a million, he admitted that his canny deal didn’t look so smart - however Pressed Steel became a BMC subsidiary in 1965, so any extra ‘profit’ stayed in house.
1973, short-lived M.G.B GT V8. In 1973, the Rover V8 engine was put into the M.G.B bodyshell to create the M.G.B GT V8. A fuel crisis at the time meant the car wasn't as successful as it might have been.
1992, rebirth is just around the corner. The introduction of the Limited Edition RV8 was a step towards M.G.'s rebirth as a sports car manufacturer. The RV8 had a contemporary version of the classic M.G.B roadster bodyshell. It was fitted with the 3.9-litre V8 engine. Between 1993 and 1995, there were just 2000 built.
2001, the next generation. A new Millennium. A new line up of M.G. Sports Saloons. Named ZR, ZS and ZT, these seriously sexy sports cars are not for the faint-hearted. They're fast and furious. Sensual and visceral.
Sadly, MG Rover Group Ltd. went into bankruptcy in April 2005. Following a bidding process the trademarks to MG and the tooling and equipment, assembly lines and the Longbridge factory were sold to Nanjing Auto of China. Nanjing Auto transferred the tooling to a new, purpose built factory in China and began production of a lightly revised MG ZT called the MG 7 in 2007. This was followed by the MG SW a reworked version of the former Rover Street Wise and the reborn MG TF sportscar. Longbridge also saw small scale auto production renewed with the assembly of the revised MG TF sportscar, from kits manufactured in China, in August 2008. A special limited 50 car MG TF 85th anniversary edition was produced in 2009, along side the standard MG TF 135 at Longbridge. In December 2008 Nanjing Auto was purchased by Shanghai Auto Industries Company (SAIC), China's largest auto producer, and the UK operation renamed MG Motor UK Ltd. In November 2009 the first new MG in fourteen years was introduced, the MG 6 which was designed by the SAIC design team based at Longbridge. The five door hatch is engineered for sale all over the world and will be produced both in China and the UK. The MG logo received a light redesign at the same time. The brown and gold version of the logo with a horizontal lined background, introduced with the MG RV8 in 1993, was replaced with the familiar octagon shape and MG letters now in chrome on a mesh black background.	MG TF 85th         MG-6

Helpful MGA, MGB, MGB GT V-8, and MGC Production Information

Schedule of Car Numbers - MGA, 1955-62

SUMMARY

Schedule of Car Numbers - MGB, MGB GT 1962-80

¹ GHD5/294951 to GHD5/294987 were also 1972 models
² First North American LE model built in 1980 was 508885

Schedule of Car Numbers - MGB GT V8, 1972-76

¹ The last two cars built, 2902 and 2903, could be described as '1977' models and were built in July 1976 after the end of series production.

Schedule of Car Numbers - MGC, MGC GT 1966-69

¹ Because of the overlap in car numbers it is not possible to say whether cars 146 to 754 were built in 1967 or 1968. Similarly, cars 4467 to 6032 might have been built in either 1968 or 1969.

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