Australia and the MGA go way back. From 1957 to mid-1962 greater than 2000 MGAs were assembled in factories at Enfield and Zetland in Sydney.
In a streetscape then dominated by chunky Holden sedans and blocky Bedford trucks, the British sports automobile was a sensation, turning heads like Ferraris or Lamborghinis do today.
Under its sheet metal this MG still had the separate chassis, lever-arm shocks, leaf-spring live rear axle and wood floor of the vintage vibe TC, TD, and TF models that preceded it.
However it looked modern, with streamlined bodywork styled by MG’s chief designer Syd Enever that was inspired by the rebodied TD roadster he had created in 1951 for the Le Mans 24 Hour race.
Six a long time later, the MGA is back – and this one’s going to show heads, too. Developed in Britain by MG restoration and restomod specialist Frontline Cars, the brand new Frontline MGA looks like a rigorously restored classic.
But under the skin is a contemporary powertrain, plus redesigned and upgraded suspension, brake, and steering hardware, that mix to make it a brilliantly beguiling sports automobile.
The Frontline MGA follows the formula established with the corporate’s long line of MGB restomods.
“The MGA was the natural next step for us,” explains Tim Fenna, founder and chief engineer of Frontline Cars. “It’s an icon of British motoring, but one which was at all times crying out for more performance and refinement.”
Australian market versions of the automobile can be manufactured, sold and serviced by Sydney-based Frontline Cars Australia, a subsidiary of Modern Classic Cars Foundation, which has built Frontline MGBs for the past 10 years.
Frontline Australia MGAs start with an Australian market donor automobile – a roadster, or the rarer coupe – that may either be sourced by Frontline or supplied by the client.
The chassis is strengthened and fitted with a redesigned front suspension that features Nitron telescopic shocks and fabricated upper links rather than the vintage lever-arm shocks that were standard on the unique MGA.
The unique leaf-sprung banjo rear axle is swapped for a late model MGB unit that’s been modified to permit coil springs and Nitron shocks and is situated by upper and lower trailing links and a Panhard rod.
Other chassis upgrades include disc brakes all round, the front rotors vented and clamped by four-piston calipers, and electronic rack and pinion steering. Customers can choose from traditional-style 15-inch wire wheels or 15-inch Dunlop alloys that seem like the wheels fitted to Jaguar’s D-Type and Lightweight E-Type racers through the Nineteen Fifties and 60s.
Customers can choose from two naturally aspirated Mazda engines, one a 2.0-litre unit that develops 168kW of power at 7200rpm and 241Nm of torque at 4500rpm, the opposite a 2.5-litre unit that develops 216kW at 7100rpm and 330Nm at 4200rpm. They drive the rear wheels through a Mazda five-speed manual transmission.
Each engine encompasses a bespoke individual throttle body induction system, revised camshaft profiles, a brand new ECU, and a tuned chrome steel exhaust system. The two.5-litre engine’s balance shaft has been removed to cut back frictional losses and improve throttle response.
All of the mechanical hardware is topped with a body that retains its stock dimensions but has been rigorously reworked to enhance its structural rigidity, primarily by means of the addition of an aluminium honeycomb floor (British-built models have a steel floor) that now tightly ties together the bodysides.
Detail bodywork changes include the removal of the front indicators – they are actually situated inside the trendy LED headlight units – and the deletion of the octagonal MG badge from the boot lid. Look closely and also you’ll also see discreet Frontline badging near the vents either side of the narrow bonnet, but otherwise the Frontline MGA looks similar to a beautifully restored original automobile.
The cockpit is more luxuriously trimmed, in leather or Alcantara, than that of any original MGA, nevertheless. The dash features Frontline-branded Smiths dials, and there’s an audio system with two speakers, two tweeters, an amplifier, and a Bluetooth module all controlled by a discreetly hidden head unit.
The trendy luxuries don’t stop there. Customers can specify heated versions of Frontline’s optional aluminium-framed bucket seats, and one-touch electric windows can be found on the coupé.
Air-conditioning can be available as an option. Australian-spec cars get a bunch of minor detail changes – every thing from ADR-approved seat belts to steel brake lines – that allow the Frontline MGA to be registered on Australian roads.
We had the prospect to get behind the wheel of the primary Frontline MGA built, a British-spec automobile fitted with the two.0-litre engine, and a comparatively tall 3.07 diff relatively than the three.4 or 3.7 ratios typically utilized in the Frontline MGBs since the owner wanted the automobile to feel relaxed while cruising. And relaxed it’s: At 80km/h in fifth gear the Mazda engine, which can rev enthusiastically to 7750rpm, is popping just 2000rpm.
The engine sounds properly rorty-snorty whenever you take it through the gears, like an old-school British performance four-cylinder engine. And though the Mazda 4 has far more top-end bite than any of those old Brit engines, it has a similarly solid swathe of mid-range torque you may exploit with the transmission’s tightly packed ratios.
The Mazda powertrain weighs 60kg lower than the vintage MG hardware, which takes weight off the front axle and means the Frontline MGA suggestions the scales at about 900kg. So, despite its tall diff ratio, the little MG felt marvelously alive on British B-roads, easily scooting to 130km/h or 145km/h between the corners.
The ride is tightly controlled, however it’s not harsh, due to the way in which the Nitron shocks take care of sharp inputs and the absorptive quality of the generously sidewalled 185/65 R15 Bridgestone Turanza tyres. The electronic power steering assists as much as about 50km/h, then drops away.
Feel and feedback through the steering wheel rim is terrific. You possibly can have manual steering for those who want. Don’t hassle. It’ll only make you sweat muscling the woodrim steering wheel at low speeds.
Like all old-school rear drive sports cars, the Frontline MGA likes to be braked in a straight line, then changed into a late apex as you get on the throttle. Get too ambitious together with your right foot, though, and the abundant traction from the usual Quaife limited-slip differential will push the nose wide.
Brake feel is superb, and the well-placed pedals, combined with the beautifully crisp throttle response and the short throws of the transmission, make heel-and-toe downshifts a cinch.
What stands out in regards to the Frontline MGA, nevertheless, is how taut and tight it feels. There’s no scuttle shake – none – and no vibration back through the steering. Suspension noise and impact harshness are thoroughly suppressed.
Though it’s very light, and with a live rear axle, the automobile feels astonishingly planted and composed, even on indifferent roads. When it comes to the way in which it drives the Frontline MGA is a very stunning piece of labor.
Indeed, there are modern sports cars that don’t feel as coherent as this reworked MG. For sheer fun and driver engagement the trendy sports automobile that comes closest to the Frontline MGA is – mockingly, given its powertrain – Mazda’s MX-5 roadster, a automobile that’s 47mm shorter, with an 80mm shorter wheelbase, but 262mm wider and a minimum of 170kg heavier.
There’s something else within the MX-5 comparison, too: The concept that less is more. Tim Fenna says the two.0-litre Frontline MGA takes about 5.0 seconds to sprint from 0 to 100km/h (the 135kW MX-5 takes a minimum of 6.0 seconds). The two.0-litre Frontline automobile is thus just 0.7 seconds slower to 100km/h than the two.5-litre model, and each versions have a top speed of 250km/h.
Increased cost of the larger engine aside, we suspect its extra power and torque could make the Frontline MGA, which has neither traction control nor ABS, a little bit of a handful, especially on a wet road. The two.0-litre model feels the sweet-spot automobile.
The unique MGA was a comparatively reasonably priced sports automobile. The Frontline MGA will not be, with prices starting at about $290,000 plus taxes and shipping and the fee of a donor automobile, in line with Frontline Australia CEO David Dyer.
“The foremost reason for constructing the automobile in Australia is the client can get entangled,” Dyer says.
It also means access to an inexpensive stock of relatively rust-free right-hand drive donor cars – 81,000 of the 101,000 MGAs built between 1955 and 1962 were exported to the US, and fewer than 1900 right-hand drive cars are believed to exist within the UK. What’s more, the Australian-built Frontline MGA doesn’t attract the imported vehicle luxury automobile tax.
CarExpert’s Take
Yes, the Frontline MGA is dear. But for the cash you get a genuinely bespoke, joyously analogue driver’s automobile that’s thoroughly engaging at real-world speeds on real-world roads.
And it is going to turn more heads than any run-of-the-mill modern Ferrari or Lamborghini.
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This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
