In the 1950's and 1960's Great Britain and Argentina were friends, and did a great deal of trade with each other. Should you ever visit Argentina, even today you will still see evidence of the huge amounts of railway furniture we sold to this country. It is almost like looking at our old 'British Railways' back in the 1960's, with copies of our rolling stock, and even down to the signalling equipment. Another tie with a part of the UK was the number of Welshmen who emigrated there to become coal miners. Patagonian Argentinians still speak a form of Welsh today.

At the same time the UK motor industry also gained a hold on that continent, and contracts were exchanged for the licensed production of selected BMC models. The Argentinians wanted a solid, dependable and reliable car, that could take the rough roads, and rough treatment the locals would meter out. The car would also be sold as an up-market 'de-luxe' saloon. The company who was to build the BMC vehicles was " Torcuato Di Tellas Industries", of Buenos Aires, whose engineering pedigree dated back to 1910. They had become a giant industrial company since, building things like that railway rolling stock of British design. Their products also encompassed steel making, electrical motors, cranes, ships, trains, and now motorcars.

With BMC technical support, 'Di Tella' were to build the 1959 Riley version of the Farina saloon car, called a 'Di Tella 1500', both as a four door saloon for use as a taxi and a base 'family' model. The Riley was also sold as the 'Argenta' pick-up, a fate many of the older '1500' taxis were converted to in later life. There was a Morris Oxford Traveller in the range, now called a 'Di Tella Traveller'. The engine was the unburstable single carb BMC 1489cc 'B' series.

As well as the bread and butter model for the masses, there was to be an up-market version of the Farina, and 'Di Tella' chose the Mk3 M.G. Magnette, selling it with the option of either a single, or twin SU carberetter set-up. It was called the 'Di Tella Magnette', unsurprisingly. This car had leather seats, fully carpeted interior, and was more luxurious than the basic '1500' ( Riley) model. Differences to the UK M.G. Mk3 Magnette were:-

The Di Tella motif is not unlike a single 'S' from the WW2 German SS emblem. The very strong bumpers and overiders were necessary due to the parking habits of local drivers, and for pushing loose animals out of the way. The sharp Italianate 'Pinin Farina' styling of the car, with its cut-off fins, attracted the attention of the hot-blooded Argentinians; a very opposite view of M.G. enthusiasts at that time! In the Argentinian car the dash board looked identical to the UK M.G. version, the same shape and instruments, but was infact a large plastic moulding.

Many corporate parts were used to modify the Di Tella Magnette for Argentina. The steering column gear change was standard issue on the previous Austin A55, and an option on the Farina Morris Oxford. As the Farina Magnette uses the A55 floorpan and running equipment, the 'modification' already existed. In the UK this column change, normal BMC gearbox was available with an overdrive, but it is not known if this was on offer in South America.

Production was underway by 1960, and cars were pouring out of the Monte Chingolo factory in Provincia de Buenos Aires. Virtually everything was locally made, (similar to the Morris Oxford series 3, built in India by Hindustani Industries.) A few CKD Export cars had been used to check out assembly procedures, ( CKD is a complete car, in bits, in a box.)

1962 saw the Di Tella Magnette update with the M.G. Mk4 Magnette 1622cc engine, though the '1500' continued unchanged with its 1489cc version. It is not yet known if the cars were updated as in the UK, with the longer MK4 wheelbase and suspension improvements, ( though I suspect not on this locally produced car.) The bigger engined 'Magnette 1622' still had the option of single or twin carbs, but the rear axle had been changed. The Di Tella's now used an American sourced rear axle on it's cars, a Kaiser version built by a local company called Dana.

Just as in the UK, the Magnette versions of the Farina are now rare in Argentina. The Riley based '1500' is still common however, and spares are plentiful. Taxi drivers loved the '1500' car because of its strength and durability, and are responsible for keeping them on the roads so long. ( A little like the Morris 1000 Vans still in use in Ceylon, now called Shri Lanka.)

In May 1966 Di Tella sold the motor car production factory to 'Industrias Kaiser Argentina' ( IKA ), an offshoot of Kaiser Automotores; an American owned company. Production continued for a few more years, but faded out as large American cars took over the market, ( just as they did in Australia, causing BMC's operations to close there.)

Production of the Argentinian 'M.G.' between 1960 and May 1966 was 2,654 cars. From IKA only 235 'M.G'. models were built. Compare these figures to the 45,000 Di Tella 1500's, and 2,537 IKA 1500's. The 'Traveller' estate car and 'Argenta' pick-up numbers are not known, but are probably in excess of 30,000.

The few remaining Di Tella 'Magnette', and 'Magnette 1622', are now being collected by M.G. enthusiasts in Argentina. One enthusiast is MGCC member Alejandro Mogni of Cordoba, Argentina, who already owns a 1946 M.G. TD, a 1947 M.G. 'Y', a 1959 MGA 1500 ( under restoration,) and now a 1966 Di Tella Magnette 1622 ( awaiting restoration,) who supplied the information for this article.

In the UK the poor M.G. Farina Magnette had a low image, but in South America its sister car was a desirable and up-market limosine.