MG Live! returns to Silverstone, offering chance to see thousands of classic cars
As the dank dark nights draw in, this is something joyous to look forward to
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Your support makes all the difference.A bit of an oxymoron, you might think, MG Live!, given that the last properly British-built MG rolled off the assembly line more than a decade ago (the spirit of the brand is kept alive in a Chinese factory now), and the enthusiasm for MGs is as strong as ever.
Hence MG Live!, which, to be fair, promises to be quite lively. Besides, the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation now believes that MG stands for Modern Gentleman, rather than Morris Garages. I suppose it makes more sense in Shanghai.
As the dank dark nights draw in, here is something joyous for you to look forward to. The biggest annual gathering of the MG Car Club has been announced for next summer, on 15-16 June, and you can start your planning now – spare fan belt, fuses, tent, that sort of thing.
The marque’s enthusiasts will be especially excited to be returning to Silverstone for the event, a great historic venue for a great historic name.
Some 3,000 MGs will be there, representing every model ever built, including, in a nice gesture, the very latest models, though they have very little link any longer to the British motor industry. (A UK head office at the old Austin/BL/MG Rover plant at Longbridge is about all there is left).
So you’ll be able to see the A to Z of MGs, that being the A roadsters launched in 1955 and the various Z sporting saloons and hatches they made in the 1960s and 2000s. Car spotters will enjoy catching rarities such as the Rover 75 estate-based ZT-T, for example, and seldom glimpsed YB saloon/tourer, which helped revive the brand after the Second World War – as well as the more familiar MGBs and MG F and TFs. Some of us will also cherish the presence, still, of the Maestro and Montego MGs from the 1980s – fast and stylish in their day – and the least loved of all classic MGs, the 1961 MG Magnette IV, based as it was on a Morris Oxford.
MG’s were built for racing and they will be doing that too on the Silverstone grand prix layout. Next year marks the 60th anniversary of the California Cup Autotest, which is awarded to the fastest three-strong MG team representing their local club centre. You’ll also get a chance to see some spectacular stunt driving. In the unlikely event you find yourself going a bit octagon-eyed there’s plenty of other attractions – bars, a lifestyle marquee, street food stalls, music and non-automotive entertainment.
Adam Sloman, general manager of the MG Car Club, based near the original factory in Abingdon, is celebrating: “We are absolutely delighted to be back at Silverstone for MG Live! next year. We’re planning on it being the biggest MG Live! we’ve ever put on, and look forward to having a great weekend of racing and fun.”
For more information visit mgcc.co.uk/mglive
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