The MGA was always one of the prettiest British sports cars ever made. Now Frontline Cars has given it the performance, handling and refinement its looks always promised. But is this still an MGA, or something rather different?
There are few cars from the 1950s that look quite as right as the MGA. Long bonnet, low waistline, beautifully curved wings and a grille that seems to be smiling at the prospect of another Sunday morning blast through the countryside.
Unfortunately, the original MGA’s performance didn’t always live up to its appearance. It was perfectly respectable in 1955, when 60 horsepower was enough to get you noticed. Today, a moderately enthusiastic family hatchback could leave one behind without the driver even realising there was a race.
Enter Frontline Cars, the Oxfordshire-based company that has spent more than three decades doing something rather clever with old MGs: keeping everything that made them desirable in the first place while quietly replacing the bits that made them less enjoyable to drive.
Its latest creation is the Frontline MGA Factory Edition, and it’s rather more than a nicely restored classic with a bigger engine.
From 60bhp to 290bhp
Let’s start with the engine, because this is where things become particularly entertaining.
Frontline offers a choice of naturally aspirated four-cylinder engines, producing either 225bhp or a rather more serious 290bhp. Both are based on modern Duratec-family engineering, with individual throttle bodies, carefully developed camshafts and contemporary engine management.
Compare that with the original MGA’s 60bhp and you begin to understand the scale of the transformation.
The really interesting figure, though, is the weight. At just 815kg dry, the Frontline MGA is extraordinarily light by modern standards.
In standard 225bhp specification, Frontline quotes 0–60mph in 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 155mph. That’s not merely quick for a classic MG. It’s properly quick, full stop.
And because this isn’t a turbocharged engine delivering one enormous lump of torque, there’s every reason to expect the sort of progressive, rev-happy power delivery that suits a traditional sports car.
The gearbox is a five-speed Mazda-derived manual, with the gear lever deliberately positioned close to the steering wheel. No paddles, no complicated driving modes and certainly no automatic gearbox deciding when you’ve had enough fun.
You change gear yourself. What a splendid idea.
The important bits are underneath
Of course, stuffing a powerful engine into a 70-year-old sports car is relatively straightforward. Making the resulting machine handle properly is another matter entirely.
Frontline has tackled this by substantially re-engineering the MGA’s chassis and suspension.
Gone are the original rear leaf springs, replaced by a five-link arrangement with adjustable telescopic dampers developed with suspension specialist Nitron. There’s revised front suspension geometry, a Quaife limited-slip differential and uprated axle components.
The brakes have received equally serious attention, with ventilated front discs and four-piston callipers, plus two-piston rear callipers.
Even the traditional fly-off handbrake survives, which is a pleasing touch.
Additional chassis bracing and reinforced floors help deal with the substantially increased performance, while adjustable electric power steering makes the car easier to use in everyday conditions.
This is the difference between a restomod and a modified classic. The objective isn’t simply to make the car faster. It’s to make the whole thing work as a properly developed package.
And Frontline has form here.
Founded by engineer Tim Fenna in 1991, the company originally concentrated on improving MGBs before developing complete bespoke cars, including the LE50, Abingdon Edition and the formidable LE60, with its 4.8-litre Rover V8 producing 375bhp.
It has even developed an electric MGB, the BEE, which unusually retains a manual gearbox.
The MGA is therefore not an experiment from a company jumping aboard the restomod bandwagon. It’s the latest application of a formula Frontline has been refining for years.
Still unmistakably an MGA
Perhaps the cleverest part of the Frontline MGA is how little it appears to have changed.
The original Gerry Palmer-designed body remains one of the finest shapes to emerge from Britain’s post-war motor industry, and Frontline has wisely resisted the temptation to reinvent it.
There are discreet LED headlights, subtly revised details and Frontline badging, but the overall effect is unmistakably MGA.
Customers can choose either roadster or coupé bodywork, in left- or right-hand drive, and virtually everything can be personalised.
Want traditional wire wheels, a beautifully trimmed leather interior and an understated paint finish? Certainly.
Prefer a stripped-down, Sebring-inspired machine with a Perspex windscreen, louvred bonnet and no bumpers? Frontline can accommodate that too.
Inside, modern conveniences include heated seats, Bluetooth audio and electronic instruments, incorporated without turning the dashboard into something resembling a tablet computer showroom.
The company’s distinctive aluminium seats are individually tailored to their occupants, while the interior trim is produced in-house.
Each car begins with an original MGA donor vehicle, which is comprehensively restored and rebuilt. Frontline says the process generally takes around ten months, depending on specification and the condition of the donor.
It’s not a production-line operation. More a bespoke tailoring service, except the finished suit has 225 horsepower and makes a much better noise.
A car to drive, not merely admire
The original MGA arrived in 1955 and remained in production until 1962. More than 100,000 were built, with the overwhelming majority exported, particularly to North America.
It was a hugely important car for MG, helping establish the company’s international reputation for affordable, enjoyable sports cars.
Today, surviving examples are treasured classics. But the uncomfortable truth is that many spend rather more time being polished than being driven.
Frontline wants to change that.
As founder Tim Fenna puts it: “The MGA always had more to give.”
And that’s really the point of the whole exercise.
There will always be enthusiasts who believe a classic should remain exactly as its manufacturer intended, complete with its original engine, suspension and period shortcomings. That’s a perfectly reasonable position, particularly with historically important cars.
But there’s another argument.
What if the people who designed the MGA had access to today’s engines, brakes, suspension technology and manufacturing techniques? Would they really have insisted on retaining 60 horsepower and cart springs at the back?
The Frontline MGA isn’t intended to replace an original, carefully preserved example. It’s a different proposition: a car that delivers the style and character of the 1950s without demanding quite so many compromises.
And crucially, it’s still light, rear-wheel drive and fitted with a proper manual gearbox.
In an age when even supposedly sporting cars are becoming heavier, more complicated and increasingly insulated from their drivers, that sounds rather appealing.
Frontline MGA Factory Edition – Fast Facts
Engine Naturally aspirated four-cylinder
Power 225bhp or 290bhp
Transmission Five-speed manual
Drive Rear-wheel drive
Weight 815kg dry
0–60mph 4.8 seconds (225bhp specification)
Top speed 155mph (225bhp specification)
Rear suspension Five-link, adjustable dampers
Brakes Four-piston front, two-piston rear
Body styles Roadster or coupé
Build time Approximately 10 months
Manufacturer
Frontline Cars, Oxfordshire
More information: Frontline MGA Factory Edition
Editor’s note: Performance figures are manufacturer claims, not independently tested.
