My late aunt June was Alec Issigonis live in nurse / housekeeper in his later years, she lived with him in his two bedroom flat in Edgbaston . I remember him very well and the flat .

Well now I want a 6 cylinder metro. Thanks very much!!

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

This is the issue with these videos especially researching them. I’ve gone through a lot of intense car wants making this 😂

Thank you, Tom. Having been in Europe and the the US from 1998, much of this was new to me. Lots of hard work there.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching David, glad you enjoyed it.

Fantastic video Tom - this channel is rapidly becoming a KZread equivalent of AROnline. Keep up the great work.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

Being compared to my favourite website is a great compliment, thank you!

Your videos and content has become so good, interesting and informative it's one of the first I look for now. Absolutely superb 🙏

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

Thank you Glen, I really appreciate it

Much awaited, much appreciated looking forward to excellent insights as always from you.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

Thanks Marcus!

@Tom Drives absolutely brilliant 👏 Thank you , great research man You put a lot into this , nice 1

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

Thanks Matthew, appreciate that, it took a while but it’s worth it! Glad you enjoyed it.

@matthewc.419

4 ай бұрын

​@@tomdrivesfascinating......... A Triumph revival!! Ur chief designer!!! Executive decision!!!

Your channel is *brilliant*, and you're a great Narrator / Host. Bravo, Sir!

Great channel , well deserves a lot more subscibers

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

Thank you, really appreciate that!

what a fantastic vid tom

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

Thanks Chris!

I had an MG ZS180. What a car, it cornered like nothing I'd ever driven up to that point but I had to sell it because I couldn't afford to get the belts done.

Thank god for that, i did see a 6 cylinder Metro in Birds scrap yard Long Marsden Stratford in 1980 along with all the test Metros that were scrapped at the time

I found this by accident and glad i did Ingotban TF which i am doing up And that A21 looks cool Great video 😊

The 1972/73 Austin Aquila prototype is another car that seriously needs a video. It's like a Mark 3 Astra but in 1972.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

I’ve seen that, it’s based on the Maxi I think.

@edgarbeat2851

4 ай бұрын

@tomdrives you luck bug 🐛 Thats a seriously facinating car. Was it red?

Excellent as ever, for some reason the prototype midget reminds me of the Sinclair C5...

love it

I fell in love with the pr5😍

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

It’s a stunner isn’t it? In real life it looks fantastic as well.

IMHO they should have gone with the MG ADO34 & ADO35 as well as the EX234, the former would have also made for a decent MG/VDP alternative to the Elf/Hornet with EX234 having better longevity including use of O-Series and Hydragas.

I love British cars!!!!! But the best MG sport car that was ever built was the Mazda MX5!!!!! Sorry about that!!! Regards Ian👨‍🎤🇳🇿👍👍🙏👌😂😂

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

As someone has an MX5 in their household I do think they’re the best roadster ever made.

So much i didn’t know here just simply because of me being in the states. But I appreciate you passing out some knowledge like it’s payday lol. I always enjoy learning about marques I’m not all that familiar with Tom 😊

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

Thanks Chris, I appreciate it and glad you’ve learnt something.

In this video, Tom fantasises about cars that were never made. He goes on to detail how the MGB could have licensed to Aston Martin. However, MG messed up the deal. Then, Tom talks about lots of cars that were never made, due to costs. Tom talks about MG vs Triumph. He mentions the Austin Maxi. The American market didn't want a complicated car. He goes on to talk about the MG Metro and he rest of the Metro range including the "6R4" class B rally car. Tom details how limited the MGB;s suspension was. Tom talks about the EX234 released in Italy that was a better variation of the MBG. He goes onto talk about later expensive derivatives. The video goes on to sat much more!

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

I like that you edited that as you watched the video Nigel and A for effort

@nigeltrigger4499

4 ай бұрын

You covered SO much! I did not intend to diminish your video in any way! I kind of ran out of steam, because you portrayed so much information!

@chrisdavidson911

4 ай бұрын

This is the exact sort of comment where the way you read it varies greatly, depending up on what sort of day you've had.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

@@nigeltrigger4499I know Nigel! No offence taken! Thanks for being here.

18:39 I like that DR2, that would have sold well I recon.

@bentullett6068

2 ай бұрын

I think the company they borrowed the chassis from realised that as well as funny enough the TVR Chimaera came out in the 2000's which styling wise seems to look very similar in concept.

Even after all these years, the MGB still looks good!! What about the 200 BRM?

OMG, how I wish that project led by Aston Martin had worked out... keeping the marque properly alive. The EX was a nice looker as well.

With the AD021 you can tell where the sloped front on the Triumph TR7 came from. The 1980's MG Midget prototype looked a great car and again you can tell where some of the styling features for the mk1 MG TF

@bentullett6068

2 ай бұрын

Also just realised MG invented the TVR Chrimaera with the DR2

That MGB Aston version, different wheels and a grill, hardly ground breaking.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

Still an attempt to refresh it that could’ve kept it going for a few more years.

So many great cars a real misted opportunity,s a real shame they could have really bought something unique and great to the market .Some stunning prototypes .

I remember going my local BL dealership as a kid to see an EX-E, CCV and 6R4. All very cool!

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

That’s great, I’m glad those are all preserved at the British Motor Museum

I worked with Roy AXE when he was at Rootes Group in their Styling Studio in the mid 60's. He then moved to Germany to take over the styling for GM Opel where he was responsible for the Record/ mk1 Cavalier and other models including the Manta. I was not aware that he returned to the UK and to MG. The Mistro & Montigo MG's were very under rated vehicles that were plagued with the tin worm and general poor build quality that was the scourge of the motor industry at that time!

@C119G

Ай бұрын

I always had rear wheel drive RS Escorts.We needed a four door car because our two children were getting too big for wriggling into and out of a 2 door Escort RS2000. I was persuaded to swap the last RS2000 for an MG Maestro.The one thing I can say about the Maestro is that after the RS2000,it was absolutely bloody awful.....,it felt like you strapped the Escort to your backside,the MG Maestro felt like you were driving it sitting on the roof plus the thing devoured front wheel bearings and front struts,it really was sh*t.I couldn't give the awful thing away fast enough.

The MG dr2 looked rather smart never seen that one before. Not so keen on the front but from the back looks neat. The Biomorphic green zrx wasn't that sold at the MG sport and racing sale and then possibly through Oakfields? Sorry don't know where it is now. The Zt385/zt500 (Ripsnorter) started as Xpower grey as you say, it was changed to Typhoon, Then a green metalic, then it was painted in Aurora and was in the colour when the company was in liquidation. The MG owners club changed it back to xpower grey. This car is now in private hands. The one and only ZT T385 was built in Ignition blue and sold through SMC. It still exists and is owned by an MG owners member. Registration BX54 KJE.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

I didn’t know much about the DR2 until I saw it in person the first time. Thanks for the Info on the ZTs and ZRX

I saw this car on Facebook today.

Tom, you are on fire.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

Thanks Edgar, appreciate it!

@edgarbeat2851

4 ай бұрын

@tomdrives Can you cover the mid engined rover V8 P6BS Thats one of my absolute favourite prototype rovers.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

@@edgarbeat2851 definitely, I went to see it a few months back at BMM. It’s in the works :)

@edgarbeat2851

4 ай бұрын

@tomdrives FANTASTIC. Your channel its really developing. I have enjoyed your channel from the early days. Keep up the really good work on Rover Austin and MG.

There is an E-XE at Gaydon. I once had the promotional materials for this after I wrote to loads of car companies as a teenager, alas I sold them some time ago.

MG X80 was a smart looking concept. Even by today's standard.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

I wonder what happened to the car

Astons at the time didn't have a pair of sausages to rub together and the slow, appalling handling, raised on rubber block, rubber bumpered B was not re engineered but simply tarted up. Doubt that would have turned any heads. Rather liked the 84 Midget.. That is a shame. The ADO 21 project and the EX-E could have been world beaters. They both are just a pair of many that could have been. So many wrong decisions not with just MG but the whole of the British motor industry. The suggestion that there would be no mass market British maker when I was a lad in the 70s would be met with incredulity. Yet it happened so soon and so fast..Like waving a magic wand.

BL had a winning formula with the original MGB and MG Midget but instead of refining it like Porsche did with the 911, they chose to change it and make it look ugly. The MGA was a beautiful car, and the MGF was a nice design that never reached its full potential. All these concepts designed by MG but the lack of leadership and direction, as well as investment led to the MG brand demise. Not long ago I walked past a dealership and saw a Chinese built MG. It was a sad moment when I realised MG will never be resurrected again as a British brand but a Chinese knockoff. As for the MG built in Italy and designed by Pininfarina? Why buy that when you can buy an Italian car like Alfa Romeo because it looked more Italian than a British car.

Quite a tail among all these videos, you must be the Sherlock Holmes of lost BL cars. It is fascinating really having lived through all the stops and starts of BMC, BL and AR since the heady days in the 60s. The 75 Coupe was another but these days the octagonal badge is just an electric Chinese knock-off.

The TF200HPD was languishing at MIRA for a good number of years, but MIRA refused to let it go. Sadly, according to MIRA themselves, the car was scrapped! Such a waste: as you say, the car was a decade ahead of its time…

Good old British Leyland really good at shooting itself in the foot.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

That’s what they did 😂

@kasperkjrsgaard1447

3 ай бұрын

And they was good doing it

Withholding comment on the political UK car 'lords business' Great video 👍

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

Thanks!

If I ever have the time and budget, I'll build an EXE replica from a TF...

ADO70 has more than a passing resemblance to the Fiat X1/9?

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

Correct

Showing that great looking concept, then saying it would have an austin maxi gearbox pretty much tells the story of british Leyland..

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

I thought that as well when I researched it.

@raychambers3646

4 ай бұрын

I thought the same heart sinks at the mention of Maxi drive train.

A mid-engined sportscar with a cable-change Maxi gearbox?! What were they thinking? That would never have worked given how awful it was in the Maxi.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

😂 it’s another brilliant decision by BL

The tf hybrid was taken to China and butchered to make mg7 xl hybrid

I cannot see the much revered MG octagonal badge regaining the respect it once had now that it is attached to cheap, Chinese 4WDs. An absolute travesty in my view.

Good review, sadly, the decline of British manufacturing is all too familiar. I would choose a B GT for practicality. On a point of grammar, incredible is not a superlative, it means not credible.

The ADO21 looked like something well worth developing and had quite a striking appearance. What a shame it was dropped.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

It would’ve been a good one, especially considering it could’ve been a real British Ferrari challenger if done right.

@raychambers3646

4 ай бұрын

Dino look about it , makes you want to cry doesn't it ?

@Andy-From-England

4 ай бұрын

I do agree looks awesome the wheels look abit like a capri but looks awesome 😊

British Leyland was a mess! Some great cars there that never saw the light of

MG now a Chinese brand is such a travestry

Watched this in 4k... LOL what a waste of bandwidth. Why even bother??? 480p will do. If youre gonna do something this in 4k the very least you could do is use some upscaling software.

@tomdrives

4 ай бұрын

Living up to the username I see.

@Curiousdriving

4 ай бұрын

Rude

i still have my -78 MGB. worst car ever. won't sell it because i won't anyone else suffer as i have.😊 slow,ugly, unreliable(before fixing ALL eletctrinics, cold, toontight spaced for even me my wife and my small dog. well, waiting for summer and that one warm day to roll MGB out for people to laugh😅