Haynes Great Cars MGB MGC & MGB GT V8
by David Knowles
ISBN 1 85960 958 9
160 pages
$29.95

I'm sure NAMGBR members would tend to agree with Haynes Publishing's assessment of the MGB-that it is worthy of inclusion in their "Haynes Great Car Series" of automotive books. The new volume MGB MGC and MGB GT V8: A celebration of Britain's best-loved sports car takes its place proudly among other worthy British legends like the AC Cobra, the Austin Healey, the Jaguar E-Type and the Triumph TR series.
The author is renowned MG author, enthusiast, marque historian and MGB Driver contributor, David Knowles. It is a retelling of a familiar story, from the MGB's beginnings shortly after the revolutionary introduction of the MGA, through the tumultuous years of the Sixties and Seventies and on to the apparent death of the marque and its beloved Abingdon home and on to the rebirth in the Nineties with the RV8.
It's a tribute to Mr. Knowles' talent as a writer that he can retell a familiar story such as this in a new, unique and once again, totally engaging way. Much material is familiar from previous books like his MGB and MG: the Untold Story. But there is still much that is newly revealed. The visual appeal and graphics are superbly done with a clean contemporary look. And there is a wealth of interesting sidebars on details of MGB history on side topics like the MGB in the BMC Competitions program, the MGB in toys and models like the Dinky, Corgi diecasts and the Airfix kit that's still available 24 years after the demise of the car, and more.
I really enjoy the reproductions of a considerable number of the ads that sold the MGB. This book offers many great memories like seeing the first MGB GT ad I ever remember (I seem to recall first seeing it in late 1965, but it is included in the 1966 section-I'm afraid I have to trust David's research more than the memories based on the enthusiasm of a car-mad nine-year-old) of an MGB/GT on a flat bridge with a young lady posed seductively on top of the car. I've long since lost the copy of that ad I pasted in a scrapbook at the time-with the young lady deftly scissored off. A nine-tear-old doesn't want tarts distracting his pure automotive fancies. It's great to see the complete in color again after all these years. Then there are the sensational late period ads with the parachuting MGB and the promotional MGB-gondola'd balloon. Another fond memory is triggered by the ad with the couple in the MG logo'd t-shirts with blue sleeves. A small type line at the bottom of the ad offers the shirts for sale at $6.25 by mail from British Leyland, Leonia, New Jersey. I still have the one I mailed off for at that time. Shame it's shrunk to the point I can't wear it.
The book is organized in sections by Mark designation and then in chapters by year. It offers one of the better tracings of the year-to-year evolution of the car. It's an ideal complement to Anders Clausager's book, Original MGB. The 'Original' book provides a great year-by-year recounting of the specifications of the car, while Mr. Knowles' book provides a strong impression of the evolution of the car, of its marketing and of the market, social and legislative forces that drove that evolution over the turbulent changes of the Sixties and Seventies. And beyond. Also covered is the resurrection of the body tooling and return to production of complete body shells and the subsequent reappearance of the MG name on sportscars in the nineties.
The verdict? If you're into MGs, you want this book. It's a well integrated story of the evolution of a remarkable car. Well told in terms of the environment from which the MGB sprung, how it came to be designed, built, marketed and ultimately be still enjoyed today as Britain's best-loved sports car.

Reviewed by Kim Tonry