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Wikipedia: MG MGB: MGC
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History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's MG MGB: MGC page on 2 April 2020, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The MGC was a 2,912 cc, straight-six version of the MGB sold from 1967 and produced until August 1969 with some sales running on into 1970. The car was given the model code ADO52. It was intended as a replacement for the Austin-Healey 3000 Mk. III which would have been ADO51 but in that form never got beyond the design proposal stage. The first engine to be considered was an Australian-designed six-cylinder version of the BMC B-Series but the production versions used a new seven-main-bearing development of the Morris Engines designed C-Series that was also to be used for the new Austin 3-litre four-door saloon. In the twin SU carburettor form used in the MGC the engine produced 145 bhp (108 kW) at 5,250 rpm. The body shell needed considerable revisions around the engine bay and to the floor pan, but externally the only differences were a distinctive bonnet bulge to accommodate the relocated radiator and a teardrop for carburettor clearance. It had different brakes from the MGB, 15 inch wheels with Pirelli Cinturato 165HR15 tyres (CA67). a lower geared rack and pinion and special torsion bar suspension with telescopic dampers. Like the MGB, it was available as a coupé (GT) and roadster. An overdrive gearbox or three-speed automatic gearbox were available as options. The car was capable of 120 mph (193 km/h) and a 0–60 mph time of 10.0 seconds.
The heavy engine (209 lb heavier than the 1,798 cc MGB engine) and new suspension changed the vehicle's handling, and it received a mixed response in the automotive press. It later transpired that the BMC press department had set the tyre pressures of the cars in the launch fleet incorrectly (to the same values as the standard MGB) and that even the correct pressures were insufficient to get the best handling from the car. Poor reviews also stemmed from the fact that, despite BMC's marketing, the MGC was not a direct replacement for the Austin-Healey 3000 and neither was it a higher-performance MGB.
The MGC was cancelled in 1969 after less than two years of production.
At the time of the car's launch the manufacturers stated that the Austin-Healey 3000 would continue to be offered as a parallel model priced on the domestic market at £1,126, compared to the MGC's £1,102.
In 1967 Prince Charles took delivery of an MGC GT (SGY 766F), which he passed down to Prince William 30 years later.
Photographs
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Subject: 1968 MG MGC GTS driven by Ken Williamson
Photographer: Nathan Bittinger Event: 2004 Zippo United States Vintage Grand Prix License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 View photo of Vintage Racing 1968 MG MGC GTS driven by Ken Williamson/a> - 251KB |
