Vehicle Story
American gearheads’ (that’s American for petrolhead) love affair with classic British sports cars goes back way further than Triumph TRs and MGBs. Right back, in fact, to this – the MG TC.
This is the car that started the British invasion, a little two-seat sports car that won the hearts of car enthusiasts in the land of the big block V8. Most American’s had lawn mowers with bigger engines than the TC’s 1250cc four pot.
But the TC was fun. Hell, it even went round corners with aplomb, something anyone who’s ever tried to drive a 1940s American barge will know isn’t something one can take for granted on that side of the Atlantic.
When World War 2 finally ended in Europe in 1945, MG’s Abingdon factory resumed car production, after six years of producing armoured vehicles, aeroplane engines and tanks for the war effort.
The MG TB was the starting point, though the body shell was widened to improve passenger space. Changes were made to the suspension, thus ensuring a smoother ride, and the electrical system was comprehensively upgraded. Otherwise, it was exactly the same 1936 design of that kicked off the T Series with the TA.
Within five weeks of the official end of the war in October 1945, the MG Car Company had announced the TC Midget, and by the year end had produced the first 81 examples. This was no mean feat as many materials were in short supply, especially steel.
The car sold exceptionally well, especially in Commonwealth countries such as South Africa and Australia. However, one big surprise was the interest shown in the car from across the Atlantic.
Arguably, the person most responsible for this post-war invasion of foreign markets was Sir Stafford Cripps, the Government Minister who told British car manufacturers that unless they could guarantee to export 30% (soon rising to 50%) of their products, the government would refuse to supply them with steel.
This measure had three principal effects: some UK car manufacturers withered and died; others, like Land Rover, turned to aluminium as the material of choice; and a few, like MG, pursued overseas markets like their businesses depended on it – which they did.
However, one notable customer in England for the TC was the Duke of Edinburgh, who owned one before marrying the then Princess Elizabeth in 1947.
And check out virtually any black and white film made during or just after WWII and, if it features the RAF, you’re more than likely to see a chap with an elaborate moustache skidding to a halt next to the Air Ministry scramble bell on a Kentish airfield.
In total exactly 10,000 TCs were produced between 1945 and 1949, before MG bowed to pressure from its by now vitally important American market for an updated version of the TC. The car was superseded by the TD in 1950.
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