1946 MG Midget TC Roadster

• Traditional MG sports car
• Early example
• Restored by the late owner in the 1990s
• Old-style buff logbook on file

This remarkable MC Midget was offered - and sold - at the recent Bonhams Goodwood Revival sale in September. The buyer at that sale was unable to complete the purchase and it thus presents another opportunity to the many collectors who expressed an interest at Goodwood. The estimate of £18,000 - 22,000 remains the same and, apart from this disclosure, the catalogue description also remains the same.

The first of MG's T-Series Midgets - the TA of 1936 - retained the classic lines established by the J2 and its successors. A larger car than the preceding PB, the TA featured a new longer-wheelbase chassis and offered increased passenger room inside more spacious bodywork, thus starting the process which would see the Midget grow in refinement, and weight, as the years progressed. Three years later the outwardly-similar TB Midget debuted the all-new, 1,250cc, XPAG, overhead-valve engine, a power unit which would form the mainstay of MG production for years to come. Performance was improved over the TA's, for although slightly smaller in capacity than its predecessor the shorter-stroke XPAG revved higher and was more powerful, its 54bhp being sufficient to propel the Midget to a top speed approaching 80mph.

Announced late in 1945, the TC Midget was based on the 1,250cc XPAG-powered TB of pre-war days and possessed comparable performance (top speed was around 78mph) while featuring a widened (by 4") body and improved suspension incorporating Luvax-Girling hydraulic dampers. More than any other car, it was the MG TC which was responsible for starting the American love-affair with the British sportscar, many of the 10,000 produced up to the end of 1949 finding customers in the United States. "No car has done so much to maintain open-air motoring and to support the demand that exists all over the world for sports car performance and characteristics in a car of not exorbitant cost and at moderate running costs," observed The Autocar magazine in October 1945, expressing sentiments that every TC-owning MG enthusiast would heartily endorse today.

Finished in British Racing Green with tan interior, this MG TC was restored by the late owner in the 1990s and used regularly for family picnics and outings (it should be noted that the engine is a replacement unit). Accompanying documentation consists of an old-style buff logbook and Instruction Manual from May 1946 and a V5C Registration Certificate.