MG C-type
title: "MG C-type" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mg-vehicles", "1930s-cars", "cars-introduced-in-1931", "sports-cars"] topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG_C-type" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox automobile"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | MG C type front left.jpg |
| name | MG C-type |
| manufacturer | MG |
| production | 1931–1932 |
| assembly | United Kingdom: Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England |
| class | sports car |
| layout | FR layout |
| engine | 746 cc In-line 4 |
| :: |
|image = MG C type front left.jpg |name = MG C-type |manufacturer = MG |production = 1931–1932 | assembly = United Kingdom: Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England |predecessor = |class = sports car |body_style = |layout = FR layout |engine = 746 cc In-line 4
The MG C-type is a sports car that was produced by MG from 1931 to 1932. It was designed for competition use and based on the M-Type Midget. A special car, called the EX120, had been developed from the M-Type for George Eyston to make an attempt on the 750 cc class 24-hour record at Autodrome de Montlhéry in France. The attempt was successful and a series of replica cars were made which became the C-Type. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/MG_C_type_rear_left.jpg" caption="The pointed tail of the C-type"] ::
The car used a tuned short-stroke (73 mm) version of the bevel gear driven overhead camshaft engine from the 1928 Morris Minor and Wolseley 10 with a single SU carburettor and a new crankshaft producing 44 bhp at 6400 rpm. It could from 1932 be had with the crossflow head to be seen later on the MG J-type and a Powerplus supercharger version was also available with 52.4 bhp at 6500 rpm. Drive was to the rear wheels through a four-speed non-synchromesh gearbox. The chassis was new and took the form of a ladder frame with tubular cross members and passed under the rear axle. The suspension used half-elliptic springs and Hartford friction shock absorbers with rigid front and rear axles and centre lock wire wheels. The car had a wheelbase of 81 inches (2057 mm) and a track of 42 inches (1067 mm).
The body, which had no doors, was metal over an ash frame and had a pointed tail which held the spare wheel and cycle type front wings. Later cars had a more conventional rear with a slab-type fuel tank. The exhaust pipe was routed outside the car and finished with a spectacular fishtail. The record-breaking cars had a streamlined cowl over the radiator, but this was not usually fitted to later cars as it could cause overheating unless high speeds were maintained.
The standard car initially cost £295 or £345 for the supercharged version, rising to £490 and £575 by the end of production.
As well as the Montlhéry record, C-Types were used in many other competition events including a works team of fourteen cars entered in the 1931 Double Twelve event at Brooklands, where they took the first five places.
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