Mighty MG Midget

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Only one MG ever won a Grand Prix, and that was C0253 in 1931. That’s not all, though. It was part of a team which raced with so much success, unprecedented for MG, that it arguably defined the marque’s future.

The M-type Midget of 1929 did wonders for MG’s popularity as a maker of road-going sports-cars, but it wasn’t cut out for racing achievements. However, once Abingdon started setting 750cc speed records with a modified Midget called EX120, it was clear that it had the potential for greatness.

Cecil Kimber wasted no time in preparing an all-out racing Midget, the C-type, which was launched in March, 1931, with the first production batch delivered directly to Brooklands for the Double-Twelve in June. One of the first people to place an order had been the Earl of March, who assembled a team from the first three chassis, C0251, C0252 and C0253.

To outline the successes of these Midgets would take hundreds of words, but be assured that they were exceptional. C0253, the sole survivor of the three, suffered an engine catastrophe in 1961 and thereafter spent almost 50 years languishing in its owner’s garage, concealed from the world. Recently, however, it was rescued by two keen enthusiasts who not only completed a very faithful restoration but are also about to start racing it again.

Zack Stiling samples C0253 and discovers the extraordinary story of the March Midgets in the June issue of The Automobile, on sale now.

Photographs by Reverendpixel

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