OUR CELEBRATION OF THE MGB in its 50th anniversary year continue this issue with a very special car. Well, to be more precise it is a very special half a car! That’s because, following on from our interview with Don Hayter in the January issue and our road test of Frontline’s LE50 last month, it is now the turn of a mad cap cutaway roadster from Maidstone Sports Cars. You can read all about that from p22, but if you are going to the International MG Show and Spares Day at Stoneleigh on 19 February, then you will be able to inspect it in what’s left of the metal. That’s because both this and Frontline’s LE50 will be on the MG Enthusiast stand, so please do drop by for a closer look and to say hello.

Of course, it is very easy when looking back at MG’s glorious past – the MG1100 and the MG Metro are other models also celebrating significant anniversaries in 2012 – to forget that MG also has a vibrant future to look forward to. That is why Martin Williamson’s impressions from visiting MG enthusiasts in China (see p76) make such interesting reading.

There is also big news for the future of MG from closer to home, with the announcement of a return to top flight motorsport in the UK with a two-car team in the British Touring Car Championship (see p6 for that). This is obviously great news for motorsport fans, but I feel it also has huge significance for all MG enthusiasts because it signifies a major investment in promoting the brand, and one that surely has real chances of hitting podium gold. After the disappointing sales of TFs and MG6s since 2008, this is a clear indication that the Chinese owners of MG are in the UK to stay, with a long-term vision for the brand. Combine that with a growing recognition of the qualities of the MG6 (four Euro NCAP stars in January and a What Car? award for security this month) and the future looks bright indeed.

Simon Goldsworthy
Editor

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