MG M Type Midget

Key facts

Year

1930
Country

Great Britain
Capacity

847cc
Cylinders

4
Output

20bhp at 4,500rpm
Performance

60mph
Price new

£185
Owner

Montagu Collection
Manufacturer

M.G. Car Co. Ltd

The first of a long line of MG sports cars to carry the Midget name, the M Type was based on the new Morris Minor launched at the same Olympia Motor Show in 1928. In the 1920s, the Oxford firm Morris Garages established a business building Morris-derived sporting cars under the direction of Cecil Kimber. The introduction of the new Midget virtually trebled the output of MG cars, leading to production being transferred to new premises in Abingdon.

The M Type established MG’s reputation for affordable sports cars suitable for use in amateur motor sport. Within a few months of launch, M Type Midgets began to appear in races and major trials events. FM Montgomery drove a Midget to victory in the 1,100cc class of the 1930 Monte Carlo Rally. Midgets also won the team prize in that year’s Brooklands Double Twelve race and entered the Le Mans 24 Hour Race.