MG Quiz

MG EX186 Le Mans MGA prototype designed 1955, and built over the following years. Fuller story here, too much to cut and paste:
http://britishracecar.com/JoeGunderson-MG-EX186.htm

Wel done, you may have the right answer for this car, :yesnod: it is truly amazing how it survived. (another one that just slipped out)

There was a prototype MG ZS at MG LIVE in 2010 that should have been destroyed after tests had been carried out, and it "just slipped out"

MG's EX186 Prototype: Abingdon Skunkworks LeMans Project
John Thornley (MG's Managing Director) and Syd Enever (MG's Chief Designer) laid careful plans for developing a very special MGA-based "prototype" for the express purpose of winning LeMans 1961 outright. They would utilize the then-new dual-overhead cam version of BMC's "B-Series" engine and they planned to compensate for lack of engine comparable size with a specially built, lightweight, and extremely aerodynamic aluminium body. They also planned a highly developed chassis featuring DeDion-type rear suspension.

"EX186" is the racecar that resulted from these plans. The car was built and test driven. By all accounts its performance was judged successful. The LeMans project was cancelled before EX186 was ever raced It was kept secret from Deputy Chairman and Managing Director Sir Leonard Lord, and from all the rest of BMC management despite Austin Healey production moved into MG's factory at Abingdon, and even while sourcing special components from other divisions and from key suppliers, and while recruiting sponsors like Dunlop and Esso for the race team.

The very earliest engineering drawings for EX186 are dated 1955, and actual construction of EX186 primarily spanned 1958 and much of 1959

It was normal MG practice to destroy racing prototypes after retiring them, but someone at the MG factory creatively decided to dispatch EX186 to a U.S. dealership, invoiced as "auto parts" where it was kept safely stored from 1960 -1966 after which it was sold and used until its engine required costly overhaul. Stored in a barn the aluminium body survived and has now been privately restored.

Engine: MGA Twin-Cam 1588cc inline four cylinder (BMC B-series with a special aluminium head). Note: EX186 was probably originally fitted with an earlier 1489cc version of the engine.

Rear Suspension: essentially a deDion type suspension, but with some details that are quite different from more familiar production-car deDion suspensions (Rover P5/P6, etc.) Specifically, in lieu of coil springs the EX186 suspension utilizes leaf springs.
The rigid transverse beam of a deDion rear suspension keeps the rear wheels parallel in all situations. Compared to a stock MGA, the rear springs are relatively soft. No rear anti-sway bar is employed.
A fascinating insight into (for me) unknown MG history. I hope you enjoyed it. All researched "on line" as I know nothing :nonod:

Over to you Tsleight well done and thank you.

Bit more info.

Story is (by rumour) that the US importer, Qvale, had enough pull at the MG factory to have EX186 spirited away in the night before it could go to the crusher. It was supposedly stored away, hidden in a warehouse at the Qvale dealer in California for years, until some sort of a foreclosure sale or auction caused it to be hauled back into the light of day, and to change hands

EX-186 was a 1958 reincarnation of one of the EX182 cars. It was originally reported to be LBL304, which would have been EX182-40. More recent evidence points to that chassis ultimately being reconstructed a couple of times in 1959, ultimately being reincarnated as SRX 210, the famous 1959-1961 Le Mans racing fastback coupe. The other possibility for EX-186 is chassis EX182-41. Given the penchant for the factory to swap registration numbers and chassis plates at will, this issue may never be resolved.


EX-186 was completed as a factory works car but was never raced. The original engine was a 1489cc Twin Cam (not 1588)

Cor - I wish I new whot you dos :omg:

Thanks Paul :broon:

(Grrrr. 2nd attempt! First attempt crashed and didn't post the question!!!! :rant: )

Right!

Question is: Count and name all the owners that MG has had (Companies, not people!). Easy question but quite interesting... :broon:

a start for those to build on / find fault with :bust:

MG Motor Co Ltd - Formed March 1928


1928 William Morris owned it privately
1935 Sold to Morris Motors Ltd (part of Nuffield Organisation)
1952 British Motor Corporation formed - merger of Austin and Morris
1966 BMC merged with Jaguar Cars to form British Motor Holdings
1968 BMH merged with Leyland Holdings to form British Leyland Motor Corporation
1975 Part Nationalisation BLMC becomes British Leyland
1980 Abingdon closed and MG mark is (temporarily) withdrawn.
1982 Under Austin Rover Group (a subsidiary company of BL) MG re-introduced as badge engineering
1986 BL renamed Rover Group plc
1988 Rover Group plc sold by Government to British Aerospace (BAe)
1989 Austin Rover Group rebranded Rover Group
1994 Rover Group plc sold by BAe to BMW
2000 Rover Group plc sold by BMW to MG Rover Group
2005 MG Rover Group goes into administration
2005 Nanjing Automobile Group (NAC) purchase certain rights to MG Brand
2006 NAC MG UK Limited -wholly owned SubSid of NAC
2007 NAC and SAIC sign merger proposals
2009 NAC MG (UK) Ltd renamed MG Motor UK Ltd SubSid of SAIC

Over to the Professionals :coat:

Wow! Very detailed. More than I had expected, but covers everything I had seen. Well done, thats correct as far as I'm concerned. And a very interesting and chequered history too... :broon:

Is nobody going to challenge? Oh well a quick and easy question to ponder over your Horlicks!!

With a Fiscal Horsepower of 19 CV it was both in advance and yet already behind the times. There were 17 pre production cars and a limited number thereafter and the animals might know where most of the cars went.

Easy to decide what it was but more importantly what was it that was a first for MG?


PS did the clue give you anything - and if so, what?

The CV rating, or fiscal power, is (P/40)^1.6 + (U/45), where P is the maximum power in kilowatts and U is the amount of CO2 emitted in grams per kilometre.

The car.............


...........was an advance in CV terms but behind modern vehicles.

It was new but looked very much like the old MGB. It shared just 5% interchangeable parts with it and 75% of it was completely new.

The total produced was 17 pre-production and 1983 production cars of which 1579 were exported to Japan. There were also 5 cars to Belgium, 2 cars to France, 21 cars to Holland, 59 cars to Germany and 4 cars to Austria.

SUPERB and completely correct reply :woohoo: now it is going to be another Brain tester :bang: :bang:

Excellent BUT the question was Easy to decide what it was but more importantly what was it that was a first for MG

However Paul I'll not split hairs on the first MG to have a fully galvanised body shell - so I understand :woohoo:

Over to you