Saturday 27th May, 2023 is the kick-off event for the celebration of the centenary of the MG brand. The British Motor Museum in Gaydon, United Kingdom is the location and quite the event it was. I have planned to be here for some time and today was the day to be at the event.
MG Cyberster
First up for my visit was to see the new MG Cyberster in person – let’s be clear, I want one! There has been quite a press launch about the car by MG Motor UK. So I was very excited to see the car in person.
The car was hard to actually find inside the British Motor Museum. I had to actually do the unthinkable and ask for directions to where it was! Then I discover the car, it is behind ropes (well OK) and it was covered in a disguise wrap of QR codes. The QRs take you to the press release page. There is a sign up about not taking any photos at the request of MG Motor UK Ltd. Huh? You’ve done a press release, and provided images. Then there’s a pre-prodution car at an all MG event but no pictures allowed? Seriously? Well, yes they apparently were. So to avoid legal issues, here’s a picture of the details of the car and the sign saying don’t take any photos!
The first impression – it’s big. Not SUV huge. Having seen the pictures of it with an MGB, I can tell you that it is way bigger than the pictures make it appear. If you think about an Aston Martin Vantage or maybe a Chevrolet Camaro Convertible – I’d say you have the perspective of the size.
I was able to chat with one of the folks with the car. It seems that the company was being very secretive about this pre-production car. To the extent that this UK staff person didn’t know, and wasn’t allowed to look at the car to know whether it was a single or dual motor version. I did speak with another representative about whether MG had any plans to come to North America. Not expecting anything definitive, I was not disappointed, nothing much on that front. However, the person was nice to chat with and did reward me with an official merchandise MG bunny. After some, perhaps insufficient thought, it has been named berster – as in Si’s berster (Cyberster). Yeah, its not as funny as it was at the time of naming!
So not much more to add about the MG Cyberster. I’d love to share a ton of photos, but I can’t. There’s supposed to be one of the design models at MG Live on June 10th, 2023. This year the event is known as MG/Triumph weekend as both marques are celebrating their centenary years in 2023. Maybe some pictures can be taken there.
Pride of Ownership Competition
Next up for me is to view the Pride of Ownership competition sponsored by Peter James Insurance. I had a useful chat with one of their reps. I want to have an MG TF in the UK and be insured for it when we come and visit. They had a potential solution!
Below is a gallery of the cars entered. Click on any image for a larger picture or to enable you to scroll through the larger images.































MG Centenary Timeline
Perhaps inspired by the timeline of MGB cars done for MGB60 there was a timeline of all MGs from the beginning to the current latest model. I seem to have not quite 100 pictures, and there were some gaps so a few must not have made it. Also note that these are not in exact order. I went to the back of a row and then came from the back to the front of the next row. They were laid out front to back, front to back – but that’s a lot of extra up and down walking and there was a bit of a crowd! Efficient over precise was selected.
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Old Number One
This car is present in the museum but was closer to the entrance this time.
1925 MG Old Number One the ‘Kimber Special’
Although traditionally called ‘Old Number One’, this is not the first MG. A saloon based on the Bullnose Morris chassis had been advertised under the famous initials in early 1924 and several more MG sports cars followed before the year was out.
This car, registered FC 7900, was a one-off special completed in March 1925 for Cecil Kimber. Kimber was the manager of Morris Garages in Oxford, the business which lent its initials to MG. He entered the car in the Land’s End Trial and was awarded a gold medal His passenger was Wilfred Matthews, who was later described by Kimber as “my first passenger in my first MG”.
Early MGs, including this ‘Kimber Special”, were based on a standard chassis with special coachwork, far more elegant than the normal range of Morris bodies. Old Number One had bodywork by Carbodies of Coventry. It used a special overhead valve version of the side-valve Hotchkiss-type engine normally found in the Bullnose Morris. The engine in this car has been dated to 1921.
MG Old Number One is reputed to have cost £279 to build. Soon after the Land’s End Trial, Cecil Kimber sold it to Harry Turner of Stockport for £300. After it went through several ownerships, MG bought it back in 1932 for just £15.
Engine:4 cyl. 1496cc
Coachwork: two-seater sports
Top speed: 82 mph [132 km/h]
Price new: not quoted
Power: 40 bhp
Registration mark: FC 7900




Bonneville MGZTT Land Speed Record car project X-15
This thing is quite the beast. It did seem to have some leaks occurring during preparation and so you can be sure it’s indeed an MG!





2003 MG ZT-T speed record car
In August 2003 and with driver Pat Kinne at the helm, the car on display was the world’s fastest estate car when it reached 225.609 mph (360.9 km/h) at the 55th annual Bonneville Speed Week Nationals which took place on the Salt Flats in Utah, USA. It returned in 2007 and again in 2008 and recorded 226.139 mph.
The MG ZT was based on the Rover 75 saloon car but incorporated trim and bodywork modifications to embrace a sporty image, along with uprated brakes and suspension and an emphasis on engine power. Estate models became ZT-T.
In 2002, MG Rover approached the California-based custom car specialists So-Cal Speed Shop to build a speed record car. Codenamed X-15, using the then forthcoming MG ZT-T V8 estate car as a basis. One of the purposes of the build was to celebrate the long Bonneville history of MG and market both the Rover V8 and MG brands.
Roush Performance were chosen to build the bespoke engine: a 6-litre V8 with a NASCAR bottom end and a Le Mans Prototype Class 1 top end. It has electronic fuel injection with an output of 800 bhp without the aid of a turbocharger. Two parachute packs fixed at the back of the car assist when braking at high speed.
Engine: V8 cyl, 6000cc
Top speed: 226 mph [363 km/h]
Power: 800 bhp
Coachwork: four-door estate
Price new: not quoted
Registration mark: none
One of the highlights of the event was to hear this car started (fired) up. It’s quite something!
Random Photos & Videos
During the day I took a number of pictures and a couple of videos of some of the cars. The lower area by the museum was for cars that had been on the various road runs (rallys) from 4 different start points. There were plenty of cars up in the general parking area as well. So here’s some pictures and videos of these cars. Click on any image for a larger picture or to enable you to scroll through the larger images.










Supermarine Spitfire Flypast
This was a treat and the unmistakable sound of the aircraft gives you goose bumps. Enjoy this Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Supermarine Spitfire flypast. Make sure you turn your sound on and up!
Modern MGs
These are not everyone’s “cup of tea” but they are real, for sale, and selling very well in the United Kingdom and other markets in which MG is present. My personal view is that we need the MG brand to return to North America. If it does not, then unless there is some huge increase in interest from younger people, I predict that huge numbers of our beloved MG cars are going to end up in the crusher as scrap. Only those with children who have grown up with MG and inherited the MG bug from parents are likely to keep MGs going in their families. The rest have a horrible fate awaiting them. So, before you trash the current MGs think about that. Don’t like the sedans and SUVs they’ve produced, well look at the history line and consider whether you hate the YB, Magnette, 1100/1300 etc.
Click on any image for a larger picture or to enable you to scroll through the larger images.






