You’re all going to be gawping at it, so let’s deal with the price straight away: this is an MG roadster that costs just shy of £80K – before VAT. Sounds like madness, it's actually glorious. Meet the Frontline Developments MG Abingdon Edition.
Abingdon's new creation ... looks like an old one
We’ve met Frontline before, when we drove the firm’s
MG LE50
back in 2011 - a £55K (plus VAT) B GT built with the blessing of British Motor Heritage in commemoration of the MGB’s 50th anniversary. Since then, Frontline’s Abingdon-on-Thames premises have more than doubled in size (by virtue of knocking through the wall to the vacated workshop next door; the building was originally commissioned by Benetton Formula One, incidentally), and this global business appears to be going from strength to strength.
There’s now a ‘clean room’ for critical component assembly, a massive mezzanine dedicated to the trimming department and storage space for several complete (brand new) body shells. When we arrive there are also a number of customer LE50s on site, back for servicing or upgrade work. Plus the usual array of fearsomely over-engined Spridgets and the like. Build sheets are neatly filed in plain sight, parts collated like museum exhibits and there’s a very Bentley-like customer specification room upstairs. Visit at your peril – you’ll come away really, really wanting something.
Heart of the matter; a spiced up MX-5 motor
So what exactly are we dealing with here? Well, as per the LE50, the Abingdon Edition is built up from a new shell and motivated by a Mazda MX-5 engine and gearbox combination, which seems somewhat poetic. Frontline keeps just enough original features to avoid re-homologation – it’s still a live axle at the back, for example – but replaces everything else, hence the car we’ve driven is still officially registered as a 1964 model. That’s the absurdly over-simplified version.
The reality – and the value – is in the details. Let’s start with the engine. What began life as a 2.0-litre MX-5 unit is now enlarged to 2.5 litres, sucks in air via a set of 50mm throttle bodies, and features a billet crank, billet rods, forged pistons, solid lifters and variable valve timing. Frontline delegated this work to Omex, where the development cycle included proper destruction testing. The result is 304hp, 248lb ft and a 7,600rpm redline. The car weighs 897kg. 0-62mph is estimated at 3.8 seconds. Do we have your attention now?
New heritage shells reinforced and lovingly finished
Wrapped around this is a British Motor Heritage shell with
RV8
strengthening that’s then further reinforced before being fully seam-welded. The bonnet scoop is necessary to clear the engine (14mm taller than before). You’ll note the absence of a conventional roof, which gives the car a clean set of lines and thoroughly reigniting the mini-Aston Martin vibe we picked up last time. This is only enhanced by the 215-section rear Yokohama C-Drives, which look ludicrously wide on an MG when viewed from behind. A neat, lidded storage area behind the seats complements the frankly enormous boot – this is no squashy bag weekender. There is a roof, a bespoke design that clips on; we didn’t see it, but imagine Boxster Spyder levels of convenience.
Frontline has the paint done locally in a process that takes four weeks; a painted but unpolished LE50 shell sitting in the workshop is testament to the flawless quality. The in-house trimming is done to a similarly exceptional high standard – again, inklings of Bentley – while the use of original Lucas switchgear masks an equipment overhaul that can include everything from heated seats to air conditioning and integrated sat-nav. Smiths has exactly replicated the original MG dial design, fronting modern electronics with a speedo that now reads to 170mph. Calculations suggest the Abingdon will hit 162.
Authentic feel, discretely integrated modernism
As for that live axle, it houses a progressively locking limited-slip diff and talks to the engine via Mazda’s delightfully short-throw six-speeder. Suspension is fully adjustable coilovers with tubular wishbones at the front and a unique six-link system at the rear – that’s one more link than the LE50. The car is set up for ‘fast touring’ rather than track work. The brakes are billet aluminium four pots at the front, cast alloy two pots at the rear, with Goodridge stainless steel braided hoses. All told, the result of decades of MG tuning experience. There are no electronic safety aids whatsoever.
Turn in for WOT
Coming from a background that largely involves reviewing the latest cars, that last factor is praying rather heavily on the mind – even with the sun shining brightly on Oxfordshire. After turning the key to prime the fuel pump, the demo car starts on a button, which, like most of the other switches in the cabin, is unmarked (and potentially crying out for some Dymo labels, if you’re into that kind of thing). The idle is busy, in a grin-inducingly purposeful way, counterpointed by a lazy pulsing beat from the exhaust. This isn’t tuned in, it’s apparently the natural by-product of the correct bore and flow calculations.
Bonnet scoop among the few giveaways
The clutch is heavy at standstill, but not so much that you notice it on the move and the gearbox every bit as slick as you’d expect. The power-assisted steering, meanwhile, is surprisingly light – but like everything else on this car, can be adjusted to customer spec; there’s a knob under the dash in the demo car to vary it by 10 per cent. The assistance helps with the suspension geometry, which dials in a lot of castor, and therefore weight. Throttle response is immediate, mighty, and thankfully linear. Now may be the time to mention the lap belts and the retro buckets with no headrests. Hope you’ve been working on those neck muscles.
Socially acceptable
You’re going to need them – the performance suggested by that 0-60 time is no joke. Especially the torque, which makes it fast in fourth, let alone the first three gears (that’s in the context of a previous week in a Panamera Turbo S, a Conti GT V8 S and the BMW i8). Use of that redline is optional for rapid progress, essential if you really want to bring the noise – the Abingdon emitting a savage, deep-lunged snarl at WOT that underlines its credentials to everyone within the not-so-immediate vicinity. Part of the joy with a car that looks like it’s escaped from some kind of last-century British idyll is that you get smiles instead of middle fingers in return. 100mph comes up with all the conviction required to persuade you that 162mph is entirely feasible (if utterly insane; see previous mention of lap belts), overtaking an indicate-and-don’t-blink type of affair.
Underpinnings are authentic but updated
Gladly, it’s not intimidating – at all. But you need to adapt your driving style a little. Snatching a brake is obviously going to be quite exciting in one of these, but more pertinent still is the way the differential works. Frontline’s engineering guru Tim Fenna, who’s set up the car to be chuckable and friendly, advises that you need to get it turning before attacking the loud pedal in a corner. Go too hard, too soon on the accelerator and the diff will push you on into understeer; better to be aggressive with the steering wheel, then get on the power. The truth of this is immediately apparent, the car so organic and communicative that you can feel the locking action winding up – get it right, and it’s like a catapult for the next straight. The sensation is ridiculously satisfying, the reaction beautifully predictable. Will the Abingdon Edition go sideways? Of course it will.
The suspension is firm, but in the manner of a well-sorted solution, rather than an uncomfortable ride. And the way it sweeps through a sequence of corners will soon see you forgive it the occasional thumping interaction with a sunken drain cover – which it shrugs off anyway. Together with the monumental raw speed, you’ll soon want to go hunting for current performance machinery to embarrass, such is the confidence and capability that sings through the chassis. The hilarity of this would surely never, ever get old. The Abingdon is that good.
Neat storage compartment behind front seats
Clearly, it isn’t for everybody – and even if it was, the cost creates not so much a dividing line as a razor-wired wall. The retro look and feel combined with modern high performance speaks to a certain something in the soul, though, and with a build-run capped at 25, the Frontline is a far more exclusive proposition than the up to the minute alternatives everyone will know you could have bought instead. Compared to a Singer 911 or Eagle E-Type, the price is a bit of a bargain, too. Brilliantly bonkers, and wonderful with it. Bloody well done.
FRONTLINE MG ABINGDON EDITION
Engine: 2.5-litre, four-cylinder
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 304@6,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 248@5,200rpm
0-62mph: 3.8 sec
Top speed: 162mph
Weight: 897kg
MPG: n/a
CO2: n/a
Price: £95,874