Six Of One

Rising values of the MGB mean the four and six-cylinder cars now overlap in the marketplace. Which gets the vote as a £20k classic MG purchase?

- Paul Wager

In the world of classic MGs, the MGC has received something of a raw deal over the years. Despite the idea of a six-cylinder MGB looking on paper like a winning plan, the car was destined for a short life and for much of the time since has been the victim of poorly-informed criticism.

This tended to hold back MGC values which took their time until they started to rise in the last few years, while the MGB raced ahead as the most popular classic car anybody can remember. The four-cylinder car’s success has now seen values of the older and more expensively restored cars climb to the level where they’re overlapping the more affordable MGCs, which makes an interesting conundrum for the prospective MG owner with £20-£25,000 burning a hole in their pocket. Do you go for the intriguing but slightly left-field MGC or the safe option of the MGB? Courtesy of Oxfordshire MG specialist Former Glory, we try to make that decision.

MGC

Since I was busy getting distracted by the ex-Police MGB GT V8 in the showroom, I didn’t realise Former Glory proprietor Nigel was firing up an MGC for me. In fact, I’d assumed the throaty six-cylinder bass which was making the building’s walls vibrate was something altogether more exotic – one of the E-Types on the premises perhaps, or maybe a customer’s Big Healey. It was explained to some extent by the stainless exhaust and trio of Webers revealed with the bonnet up on this particular car, but it does neatly illustrate the step up the MGC represents from the common-or-garden B.