If ever there was a car which introduced American drivers to the British sports car, it was the MG TD. Earlier T-Series cars had reached the USA in limited numbers, but it was the TD – the first MG sports car to have a left-hand-drive option, and the first to have independent front suspension – that converted them. Of a total production of nearly 30,000, more than 23,000 were originally sold in North America.
Building on the reputation of its earlier Midgets, MG had launched the first T-Series car in 1936, but until 1950 they had a 1930s layout, complete with a flexible chassis, a narrow-hipped body and a bone-shattering ride. The TD, which was developed in a tearing hurry, set out to change all that.
Although the TD followed the same visual philosophy as previous Midgets – a wooden-framed body tub, flowing front wings, separate free-standing headlamps, and an upright, instantly recognisable radiator grille – it was different in almost every detail. Not only had the chassis, hidden underneath, been changed, but the proportions of the body shell had altered too.
The first prototype used a much-changed version of the MG YA chassis, but for production there was a new frame, much stiffer than ever before, with wider wheel tracks, rack-and-pinion steering and coil spring independent front suspension. |
 |
Although the engine and transmission similar to the TC Midget which it replaced, the TD turned out to be a much more capable car, if only because its roadholding was so much better than before.
This was, in other words, a new type of sports car which, quite perversely, continued to look old. Except that it was wider and somewhat more squat than before, it could easily have been engineered in the 1930s, and was built on the same sort of rudimentary jigging and tooling. For a time, at least, absolutely no-one complained, especially when they discovered the famous XPAG-type engine which could withstand super-tuning, and realised that the car could develop spirited acceleration. Nothing, however, could give the TD a high top speed, as its body had all the aerodynamic qualities of a mature barn door.
Until two new and much more modern looking sports cars appeared – the Triumph TR2 and the Austin-Healey 100 – the TD was Britain’s most successful sports car, and deservedly so. It was probably a mistake for MG’s bosses to insist that it was than facelifted (to the TF) instead of commissioning a completely new style, but these cars won, and have always retained, a huge following, especially now that the cult of the classic car has mushroomed so strongly.
The TD differed from previous Midgets in its chassis and body shell. These cars had much better roadholding than earlier models and went on to become Britain’s most successful sports car.
|
