The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

RX 8306 is a 750 cc C Type MG Midget and is seen here in post-race condition at the Brooklands circuit in Surrey in 1931. This is one of a sequence of images taken of this car at the circuit that day another of which featured in Triple M Corner no.42 which can be found in the Snippets archive. In this instance the Hornet in the background is of significant interest. OW 275 is a factory built 1931 Hornet Coupe of which very few were constructed and even fewer photographed. (Lat Images Plate E1333)

Yet another Abbey Hornet 2+2 special, this one being a 1932 AS3 model. The close fitting front cycle guards on this model turned with the wheel ensuring that less road dirt decorated the car’s body sides, although the bottom quarter of the rear mudguards have been fitted with an aluminium cover to protect the paintwork. Unlike other Abbey Hornet models this car was not fitted with louvered side valences. (A Motor Sport road test of this model has recently been added to the Wolseley Hornet page here.) LAT Plate E1909

1931 Arrow Hornet Special PL 9592 was built at the A.P. Compton‘s works located in a converted tram depot in Hanwell, West London. The firm offered two further Arrow body styles on the Hornet chassis, these being a fixed-head and a drop-head coupe. All three models were effectively 2+2s and this seating arrangement was a particularly popular style and was adopted by many of the coachbuilders constructing Hornet special bodies at that time. The Arrow model illustrated was fitted with twin wipers, fold-flat windscreen, a fog light, Mosley ‘float-on-air’ seat cushions while the all weather equipment included a rear tonneau. Stone guards have also been fitted to the headlamps and radiator, partially obscuring the Arrow script attached to the honeycomb.  (Plate E1875 courtesy of LAT Images)

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to 1936 via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

The original MG Midget, conceived in the autumn of 1928 by Cecil Kimber, had its ‘last hurrah’ in February 1932 when the supercharged version was launched. A favourable road test report appeared in the February 12th edition of The Autocar and it is from that road test photo-shoot that this unpublished image was taken. The new ‘blown’ variant of the Midget had a top speed of 76mph (as tested by The Autocar) and cost £250, a full £65 more than the standard metal paneled version, which according to the test report now sported a wider body than the fabric skinned model.

This image (E1924) is from a newly discovered batch of plates in the LAT Images archive. As can be seen the clarity and overall quality is extremely high and its hoped to feature more from this cache shortly.

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

A further scene from the 1933 running of the Scottish Six-Day Trial (SSDT). Here D. Donaldson’s Edinburgh registered 1933 J3 Midget FS 6777 is seen negotiating a very sharp hairpin bend on an unmetaled section of mountain road with spectacular highland views as a backdrop. Just 35 cars entered the event (including the two Minors of Barge & Wagner) while Donaldson’s car was part of the prize winning three car MG team.

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

1930 MG Midget MG 703 (2M/1910) is seen here taking part in the Royal Scottish Automobile Club’s 1936 (RSAC Rally) which took place over 1st – 5th June that year. The car is being driven by Lt. Cdr. G.M.D. Maltby R.N. a member of the Kent based coachbuilding family. According to the caption on the rear of the photo the car is “awaiting 1st test” – Acceleration up hill at Boness. The Boness hill-climbing test was an innovation at this rally and took place early on the first day, shortly after the rally’s Edinburgh start. The car and crew did get among the awards winning the ‘Old Car’ prize. (The fate of the cyclist is unknown.)

The car is now in the long-term custody of Ian Judd, a member of this website and former Minor owner. A high resolution version of this image will hopefully adorn his office wall soon.

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

The 1932 MG F Type Magna was powered by a ‘disguised’ Wolseley Hornet six cylinder engine with a displacement of of 1271 cc. The version seen here is bodied by the coachbuilder Stiles and was one of 188 Magna rolling chassis that found their way to the coachbuilding trade. This model was constructed with a dickey-seat covered by a lid that also acted as a back rest for the occupant. Note the ‘dickey’ access step attached to the rear bodywork. This image first appeared in the 18th March 1932 edition of The Autocar. (LAT Images photoscan)

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

This 1932 MG Magna DHC special with a body by Farnham sold for £325 when launched in 1932. The image is a photo-scan of a heavily re-touched print from LAT Images Autocar archive.

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

The last M Type Midgets were built during the first half of 1932 and were lightly tweeked in appearance for that last season. They were the recipients of new angular styled wings as seen on the D and F Type Midgets and on this factory demonstrator/press car example a windscreen wiper had also been fitted. Other interesting features to note are the short notched advance/retard lever as first fitted to the 1931 short season S.V. Minors along with the anti-shake rubbers fitted on the ‘B’ post. The long extended ‘double-bend’ gear lever is plainly visible as is the carpet fitting detail. This is a metal paneled model and the permanently attached hood brackets are just in shot while the shorter boot lid is not. (This is an Autocar photo scan image courtesy of LAT Images)

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

A seasonal image to conclude the Triple M corner series for 2016. This heavily re-touched shot of MG P Type Midget (BUV 140) was taken at the MG Car Clubs Chiltern Trial held in January of 1936. According to the caption E.J. Haesdonck is seen ‘crabbing up Maiden’s Grove’. The hamlet of Maidensgrove is located five miles north west of Henley-on-Thames, Oxon. The precise date of the trial was 19th January 1936 and this W.J. Brunell image appeared in the next Autocar edition which was published on 24th January.