MG MGB
Sports coupé manufactured by British Motor Corporation and British Leyland
The MGB is a two-door sports car which was manufactured from 1962 until 1980 by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) (later the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland) and marketed under the MG marque. It was announced and its details first published on 19 September 1962. Introduced as a four-cylinder soft-top roadster, later variants include the MGB GT three-door 2+2 coupé (1965–1980), the six-cylinder sports car and coupé MGC (1967–1969), and the eight-cylinder 2+2 coupé, the MGB GT V8 (1973–1976).
Replacing the MGA in 1962, production of the MGB and its variants continued until 1980, though fixed roof GT models ceased export to the US in 1974. Sales for the MGB, MGC and MGB GT V8 combined totaled 523,836 cars. After a 12-year hiatus, the MGB re-entered production as the heavily modified MG RV8 with a limited run of 2,000 cars before its final replacement in 1995 by the MG F.
History
Development of the MGB started at least as early as 1958 with the prototype known by its Abingdon codename; MG EX205. In structure the car was a progressive, modern design in 1962, using a unitary structure, instead of the traditional body-on-frame construction used on both the MGA and MG T-types and the MGB's rival, the Triumph TR series. However, components such as brakes and suspension were developments of the earlier 1955 MGA, with the B-Series engine having its origins in 1947. The lightweight design reduced manufacturing costs while adding to overall vehicle strength. Wind-up windows were standard, and a comfortable driver's compartment offered plenty of legroom.
“MG MGB” enters the record as sports coupé manufactured by British Motor Corporation and British Leyland. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Sports, coupé and manufactured can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1538551. The Library of Congress control number is sh91001844. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1962, 1980, 1965 and 1967.
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