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The best example of a classic car to which the rules apply is the
MGB GT. The specific question as to whether an MGB GT, built in the years 1974 to 1980, is a "classic car" (in general usage, personal feeling, as well as with regard to the standardization) can be answered with "yes" because:
- The vehicle meets the normal criteria of age with "more than 20 years"
- The vehicle still has a design that is typical of a classic car (chrome strips, door handles etc.)
- The vehicle appears so rarely on the road that almost everyone who sees it succumbs to the personal "look at that" effect, thus meeting the criterion of being something special or rare.
However, the classic car status of the MGB GT results not only from its age, but also from its appearance and, compared to the MGB convertible, its low unit volume. Whereas a total of approximately 513,000 MGB convertibles and coupés were built, only 104,000 of the MGB GT MkII version were built. The majority of these remained in Great Britain or were exported to the USA; only 9,300 units are distributed across the rest of the world. The car to be evaluated is one of these, not produced in high volume like the US model (47,000 units).
It is especially the lack of popularity at that time that makes the vehicle interesting from today's perspective, as it is one of the frequently occurring cases in the history of automobiles of "the right car at the wrong time". The MGB GT, as a coupé with luggage compartment lid, is an early precursor of the sports station wagon, a product line that was only discovered in the 1990s by the large manufacturers, for example today's BMW Z4 coupé. This means that the MGB GT is one of the initiators of an idea that only fully matured 20 years later. Despite this progressive concept, the vehicle has all the characteristics of a classical 1960s sports car, with a basic shape that goes back to the year 1965 and is therefore 39 years old. This includes an engine hood which protrudes in relation to the vehicle length and a compact occupant area with short body overhangs in the rear end. Also typical are the numerous chrome trim parts (window frames, side trim strips), round dials and the lack of electrical or hydraulic aids to operation such as power windows, power steering or ABS. This technology puts across a direct driving experience that modern vehicles are no longer able to provide and that fans of classic cars hold in high estimation.
The popularity of the MGB can also be seen in the large number of small ads in the trade press (classic car magazines) where models of this type are offered, in the numerous dealers that have specialized specifically in the sale of this model, and last but not least in the wide range of spare parts on offer.
In summary, it can be said that the MGB GT is the last representative of the affordable, mass production British sports car. When its production was terminated, this special class of vehicle (coupé variant of a convertible) ceased to exist and was only revived at the start of the 1990s.
Source: Classic Data
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