AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE

An auto wouldn't be most people's choice in an MGB, but Peter Lavers is a big fan of the Borg-Warner 35 in his Bermuda-topped 1971 Roadster

PETER LAVERS

My MG often gets confused looks: “I didn't know they made an automatic MGB?” Well, they certainly didn't make many. Aficionados of the marque will know that the MGB's bigger-engined brother the MGC was developed with an auto option. The ubiquitous Borg-Warner 35 was mated to its six-cylinder 2912cc engine and offered throughout the car's three-year production from 1967. Despite the MGC not being a huge success with around 9000 made, nearly 15 per cent were automatic – most were GTs, and the vast majority went to the US market. At the time, the BMC C-Series engine was criticised for being heavy, lazy and not well-suited to a sports car. As a mile-eating grand tourer, however, the auto made more sense. Less well known is that the smaller-engined MGB was…

You're reading a preview of

Classics World (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.