Shared heart: MG Midget 1500 vs Triumph Spitfire 1500

By Alastair Clements

| 11 May 2021

Classic & Sports Car – Shared heart: MG Midget 1500 vs Triumph Spitfire 1500

Two rivals, born into conflict and trading punches as they grow up, are thrust together as reluctant cohabitants by their parents’ marriage of convenience.

And then the ultimate indignity, as they enter their final years and one is forced to share its vital organs to keep the other alive.

It sounds more like the pitch for some terrible made-for-television movie, but was just one of the multitude of mini sagas that played out within the British Leyland empire.

MG Midget tackles Triumph Spitfire in a tussle for 1500cc sports car supremacy

Ever since American GIs discovered the joys of British sports cars while on wartime assignment in Europe, and subsequently began taking them back home to the States with them when their tours of duty were completed, the USA and its voracious automotive appetite became a draw for UK manufacturers.

None more so than MG, whose T-series ‘Midgets’ were taken to heart by amateur competitors and began being shipped across the Atlantic as quickly as they could be built.

Others such as Allard, Jaguar and Triumph quickly followed suit, and long after the UK’s desperate post-war drive to ‘Export or Die’ the USA remained a key market for these marques.

Enjoying this 66bhp late-model MG Midget

After the MG Midget model name was revived in May 1961 on a reinterpreted Austin-Healey Sprite, some 76% of ‘Spridget’ production headed to the Land of the Free.

As a result, there were inevitable changes not only to keep models fresh, but crucially to keep them in line with Federal legislation.

Usually these were discreet – padded dashboards, side repeaters and the like – but as the regulations grew more stringent, the changes became rather more noticeable.

The poor little Midget particularly suffered, carrying huge – and hefty – polyurethane-wrapped steel protrusions front and rear from the introduction of its fourth-generation model in October 1974.

The 1493cc Triumph ‘four’ required a new sump and manifold to fit into the MG

Quite apart from the visuals, which were something akin to giving Tinkerbell a set of boxing gloves, they added nigh-on 100lb to a car that had already done a fair bit of porking up since its sylphlike original incarnation.

Until then that hadn’t been a big problem, because its A-series engine had grown to suit.

Starting out in May 1961 as a lightly tuned 948cc ‘four’ with 46.5bhp, to combat the arrival of its nemesis Triumph Spifire in 1962 it grew to 1098cc and 55bhp – a heady figure that necessitated the introduction of front disc brakes at the same time.

Two years later the MkII Midget added 4bhp more (and wind-up windows), then for the sweet-spot MkIII of 1966 the 1275cc A-series from the Mini Cooper ‘S’ arrived with a useful 65bhp, as well as a fixed rather than packaway hood.

The Spitfire’s 24ft turning circle betters a London taxi

But as far as its reliable and emissions-friendly form went, that was just about that. And as the little MG continued to pile on the pounds, it simply wasn’t enough.

The answer was to come from an unlikely source within the British Leyland empire.

For when Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings merged in January 1968, arch enemies Triumph and MG were thrust together under one roof, and Abingdon’s baby would be rescued by a life-saving donation from Canley: the Spitfire’s engine.

Hardly the last word in sophistication – or indeed reliability, if the naysayers were to be believed – the 1493cc unit could trace its lineage back to the Standard Eight’s overhead-valve ‘four’ way back in 1953.

The Triumph Spitfire’s clamshell bonnet gives great access to the engine bay

But what it did have was an ability to be stretched beyond the A-series’ production limit of 1275cc, in 1500 form adding the extra muscle needed to combat the additional weight and strangulation of the Federal emissions and impact regulations.

A new manifold and sump were required to squeeze it into the Midget’s engine bay – and squeezed it is, dominating the space beneath the rear-hinged bonnet.

In contrast – an apposite word for these two polar answers to the same question – the Spitfire’s clamshell bonnet hinges forward to reveal the same unit set low in the Triumph’s familiar separate chassis, a shortened version of the Herald item, with spectacular access for the DiY mechanic.

MG Midget owner Brown (left) and Spitfire custodian Cutting discuss their classics

This particular Midget is a true ‘survivor car’, wax-injected from new and subsequently kept in long-term storage.

“It still drives like new, and that’s why we bought it,” says owner Steve Brown.

That’s a common claim, but in this case it’s true: eerily tight and fresh-feeling, this MG even smells like a new car – an intoxicating ’70s whiff of vinyl and brittle plastic.

From without, those bumpers do inevitably mask some of the early car’s delicacy, yet the Midget’s cheeky looks survive and the black paint of this particular example helps to absorb them better into the shape.

The tight MG cabin is a symphony in black with few luxuries, although the dashboard plaque marks this out as one of the final 500 cars

Students of the model will notice that it has the squared-off rear wheelarches of the earlier cars, the desirable ‘round-arch’ style having lasted just two years from ’72 because the flattened shape was found to give the body additional stiffness.

Shoehorning yourself into the Midget – inevitably clouting your hip painfully atop the B-post – feels more like putting it on, so intimate is this car’s cabin with the window sill at shoulder height and no control more than a handspan from the wheel.

That sense of intimacy is heightened in the 1500 by the wider transmission tunnel, while ahead there’s further evidence of the incongruous lump up front in the Triumph-sourced dials with their distinctive font.

There’s not a chip on this car’s crackle-black dash, but there is a little plaque that identifies it as one of the final 500 limited-edition cars built in November 1979 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Midget name, first used on the M-type in 1929.

That decoration aside the surroundings are pretty spartan, with sunvisors, a push-pump for the windscreen washers, and the wipers on a switch rather than a column stalk.

It’s a lot of fun behind the wheel of this MG

Reach under the dash to fire it up and it’s muted at tickover. If you’ve ever driven an A-series Midget you’ll be used to the thrilling, slightly frantic progress they make, all rortiness, short-shifting and bouncing across the road surface.

As a result, the 1500 initially confounds expectations. It’s as if the naughty little schoolboy of old has grown up a bit: there’s a degree of refinement, and the increased ride height – raised by some 1½in to get those bumpers to the all-important regulation level – results in genuine comfort.

Press on a bit, however, and that old character starts to shine through.

“Arch enemies Triumph and MG were thrust together under one roof, and Abingdon’s baby would be rescued by a life-saving donation from Canley”

It’s busy, for a start: the motor’s redline is 6000rpm, yet the engine has done most of its useful work by 4000 – not ideal when you’ll find yourself pulling plenty of revs most of the time, without a fifth ratio or an overdrive option for the Morris Marina-sourced gearbox.

And you’ll be busy, too, because the Midget – any Midget – is such an involving car.

Yes, it feels a bit nervous, but the payoff is wonderful accuracy when the going gets twisty: you barely have to consider turning the huge tiller before it has dived into a corner.

Then the weight transfer takes over thanks to that tall suspension and the mass rolls over the rear wheels, resulting in playful oversteer at will.

In the dry it doesn’t have the power to get you into trouble, but in the wet the 1500’s torque can make it very skittish if you’re not careful.

Both these British classic cars are loaded with charm

After that sensation of scraping your backside along the floor, it’s odd to get out and find the MG looking so tall and slab-sided alongside the Triumph.

Curvaceous and ground-hugging, the Spitfire 1500 is a masterclass in the art of the facelift, a brilliant update by Michelotti of his own 1962 original that looks every inch a child of its era – particularly when specified in one of its signature hues such as Magenta, Mimosa or, as here, Russet.

“It’s the colour of the ’70s,” says owner Paul Cutting, who has swapped some of the original matt-black detailing for chrome on his 1978 car to give a more ‘classic’ feel.

Top-bottom: the classic MG lights meet polyurethane bumpers; body-coloured headlamp rings and a Kamm-style tail on this Spitfire

Although launched a year after the MG, the Triumph always kept the folk at Abingdon on their toes, kicking off with more capacity (1147cc), more power (63bhp) and better equipment, headlined by independent suspension all round.

Before the Midget could catch up, the 67bhp MkII of 1965 shifted the goalposts, then a facelift two years later brought a larger, 1296cc engine giving 75bhp.

A more fundamental makeover followed in 1970, introducing the cleaner, more squared-off family look that the 1500 would share.

Under the skin, the earlier cars’ occasionally wayward nature – with the dreaded ‘tuck-under’ always a risk from its Herald-derived swing-axles – was tamed by a new ‘swing-spring’ rear suspension design, made even more secure with the wider rear track of the twin-carb 1500 in 1974 (sold from ’73 in the USA, with a single carb).

The Triumph has the benefit of overdrive

As a result it corners just as quickly but more neutrally than the MG, though combine that with a relatively low-geared 3.75 turns of the wheel from lock to lock and it’s a car that requires much more input, demanding that you consciously steer through a bend rather than thinking it round.

On the flipside, it also feels more stable – a sudden sneeze in the Triumph won’t send you straight into the undergrowth.

The thing that changes its character the most, however, that makes it feel like a ‘proper’ car in miniature rather than the MG’s glorified rollerskate, is the overdrive fitted to the notchy but positive all-synchromesh ’box.

Operating on third and top, it drops engine busyness to a bearable level at cruising speeds, with 60mph a relatively muted 2750rpm.

The aftermarket Mountney wheel suits the Triumph Spitfire’s cabin

It feels the slower car – though there is barely anything in it – but a far more relaxed cruiser.

Only the ride spoils that impression: it’s not uncomfortable, but you’ve barely moved a matter of yards before it becomes clear that this is a separate-chassis design.

It feels much looser than the drum-tight MG, with various rattles and shudders that bring to mind the early sidescreen TRs.

That’s more than made up for by the cockpit, however, with its oh-so-’70s vinyl and brushed nylon trim complemented by sunvisors, proper column stalks and a slab of timber for the dashboard – genuine luxury after the MG, with the ashtray that tops the dash giving an almost caddish air.

“Long after the UK’s desperate post-war drive to ‘Export or Die’, the US remained a key market for these two marques”

Though narrow, it’s longer and where you sit buried deep in the Midget, in the Spitfire you sit proudly high, elbow naturally coming to rest on the door top with a wonderful view down that long, E-type-like bonnet across the twin humps of the front wings.

There’s even a longer, wider 7cu ft boot for touring, too, something that owner Cutting has grown to appreciate: “In 1965 I’d probably have had the Midget, but by 1975 I’d moved on to the Spitfire.”

The Triumph takes longer to fall in love with, but on the other hand you sense it’s a car with which it’s easier to form a long-term relationship.

The Midget’s instant appeal, like a passionate affair, is just the thing for a fling.

Would you pick the keys to the Triumph or the MG?

In either case first might well be best, but that doesn’t mean last should be written off.

Development of both the Midget and Spitfire brought improvement as well as compromise, and as daily drivers these last-of-the-line cars comfortably outshine their earlier siblings.

As to which was the greater success in period, it’s a story of swings – or should that be swing springs? – and roundabouts.

There were more than 354,164 Spridgets built across 18 years, compared to 314,342 Spits in the same space of time; but whereas nearly a third of the latter (95,829) were 1500s, MG managed to shift just 73,899 of its Triumph-engined Midgets.

The Midget won’t pull away from the Spitfire, but it’s huge fun

I know the Spitfire is the better car in many ways, and the logical choice.

The problem is, I wanted an MG when I turned 17, and while the Triumph is clearly the more grown-up option there must be a part of me that still hasn’t matured enough.

If my journey were more than merely a fun run then the Spitfire would be the natural choice, but for smearing a grin across your face within minutes of setting off, nothing quite beats a Midget – whatever lies beneath.

Images: Olgun Kordal

Thanks to Will de la Rivière at Beech Hill Garage

Factfiles

MG Midget 1500

Sold/number built 1974-’79/73,899
Construction steel unitary
Engine all-iron, ohv 1493cc ‘four’, twin SU HS4 carburettors
Max power 66bhp @ 5500rpm
Max torque 77lb ft @ 3000rpm
Transmission four-speed manual, RWD
Suspension: front independent, by double wishbones, coil springs, anti roll bar rear live axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs; lever-arm dampers f/r
Steering rack and pinion
Brakes discs front, drums rear
Length 11ft 9in (3581mm)
Width 4ft 7in (1394mm)
Height 4ft ½in (1234mm)
Wheelbase 6ft 8in (2032mm)
Weight 1720lb (780kg)
0-60mph 12.3 secs
Top speed 101mph
Mpg 27.9
Price new £1559.61 (1975)
Price now £5-11,000*

Triumph Spitfire 1500

Sold/number built 1974-’80/95,829
Construction steel backbone chassis, steel body
Engine all-iron, ohv 1493cc ‘four’, twin SU HS4 carburettors
Max power 71bhp @ 5500rpm
Max torque 82lb ft @ 3000rpm
Transmission four-speed manual, optional overdrive on third and top, RWD
Suspension independent, at front by wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar rear swing-axles, transverse leaf spring, radius rods
Steering rack and pinion
Brakes discs front, drums rear
Length 12ft 5in (3785mm)
Width 4ft 10½in (1486mm)
Height 3ft 11½in (1207mm)
Wheelbase 6ft 11in (2108mm)
Weight 1710lb (776kg)
0-60mph 12.9 secs
Top speed 101mph
Mpg 34
Price new £2383 (1977)
Price now £5-12,000*