MGB - The Illustrated History 4th Edition

Sales of over half a million units made the MGB Britain's most successful ever sports car. And the truth is, that more than three decades after production ceased, the MGB's classic lines, affordability, fun factor and certain 'rightness' mean that its enthusiastic following remains undiminished.

In MGB: The Illustrated History the authors, self-confessed 'B' enthusiasts both, recall the remarkable history of this remarkable car. Originated with full co-operation and contributions from key members of the original design team, including John Thornley, Syd Enever, Don Hayter and Roy Brocklehurst, this book takes the reader behind the scenes at the world-famous MG factory at Abingdon, which closed its doors in 1980 with the demise of the MGB after 18 years in production.

The background to the MGB roadster's development is first recalled in the context of its immediate predecessor, the MGA, the various famous EX experimental models, and the heritage of MG as a whole. Separate chapters then follow the development, introduction and production of the GT, MGC and V8. Further chapters on the MGB's competition successes and the RV8 complete the story. Along with a feast of color photographs and contemporary brochure material - enough to satisfy even the most ardent MGB lover - the book also features full-color cutaway illustrations of the three main 'B' variants. Copiously illustrated with contemporary color photographs and brochure material, and featuring color cutaway illustrations of the MGB roadster, MGC, MGB GT V8 and MG RV8, this book not only charts the production life of Britain's best-loved sports car, but also takes the reader behind the scenes at the world-famous Abingdon factory.
About the Author:

Jonathan Wood has been writing and researching the history of the British motor industry all his working life. He has some 35 books to his credit, has twice won the Guild of Motoring Writers' Montagu Trophy, and is a two-time recipient of the US-based Society of Automotive Historians' Cugnot Award. A founder member of the staff of Classic Car magazine, he ran an MGA as his company car. Over the past 30 years he has given illustrated talks on motoring history to old car clubs and branches of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. In 2005 he presented the Institution's Sir Henry Royce Memorial Lecture to mark the publication of his biography of Alec Issigonis, creator of the Morris Minor and Mini. Now living in Ludlow, Shropshire, he combines his automotive enthusiasms with writing and lecturing on local history.

After a spell as art editor of Autocar, Lionel Burrell was the originator, in 1973, of Classic Car, which went on to become the world's best-selling classic car magazine under the title Thoroughbred & Classic Cars. Later he became managing editor of the The Automobile magazine. He was instrumental, together with Roy Berry, in starting the first full-time diploma course in classic car restoration in the UK, at the Colchester Institute. His first car was an Austin Seven, which he bought in 1955. Since then he has owned and restored Jaguars, Aston Martins, Triumphs and MGs, including an MGB that was his first restoration project at the Colchester Institute. Currently, he still has his 3-litre Bentley, which he has owned for nearly 50 years, and he has just finished a two-and-a-half-year rebuild of a 1926 Talbot 10/23.