This year marks the 70th anniversary of the MGA, built at the MG Car Company’s factory in Abingdon.

To mark the occasion, Abingdon Museum has opened a new exhibition featuring information boards, photographs, model cars, and a Pathé news film, ‘The Sports Car of the Year (1955–1956)’. The exhibition runs until 28 June.

The MGA was launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1955 and marked a significant change from MG’s earlier T-Series cars. The T-Series retained pre-war features — separate wings, running boards, and an upright driving position — while the MGA introduced a low, streamlined body, with the driver sitting closer to the road, aimed at the export market.

Just over 101,000 were built between 1955 and 1962, the majority sold in the United States. For Abingdon, that meant steady employment at the MG works.

The MGA was followed by the MGB, MG’s most commercially successful model. An MGB, along with other MG artefacts, is on permanent display at the museum, as well as the temporary MGA exhibition.

Abingdon Museum is run by Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council.