Racing MGTDs 1951 MG TD Mk.II - Factory Trials Special Faspec MGTD Swiss Cheeze MGTD Gillespe Special 1952 MG TD Motto Racer Schiaretti MGTD Dries van der Lof MG Special

A selection of MGTDs modified or built solely for racing. Includes factory and hobbyist cars.

1951 MG TD Mk.II - Factory Trials Special

First four pictures courtesy of Kevin Terry of ktsmotorsportsgarage.com. Far right picture artist unknown.

Faspec MGTD

Top three pictures courtesy of Doug Pulver of MG-World. Other pictures artist unknown.

Swiss Cheeze MGTD

Picture courtesy of Doug Pulver of MG-World.

Called the Swiss Cheeze Special because of all the holes that have been drilled in it to make it lighter.

Gillespe Special

Gillespe Special MG TD with Eugene Osborn at the wheel in 1952. This is a beautiful California special.

1952 MG TD Motto Racer

The Motto bodied MG was the idea of Dave Ash, a prominent MG racer in the early 50s and Inskip Motors, the East Coast importer of T Series MGs. This idea was to prove the MGTD engine, transmission and brakes could be competitive with the Osca MT4 and Porsche 550 Spyders, if those components were clothed in a lightweight aluminum body. In the 1950s, those bodies came from Italy. Enter Rocco Motto and his Carrozzeria Motto Coachworks who produced racing bodies for Ferrari and others; he produced three bodies for the MGTD. Chassis master Gilberto Colombo (aka Gilco) provided the chassis for two of the three Motto MGs made and the third placed on the TD chassis. Syd Envener, of MG's racing department of England, provided the water-cooled, overhead-valve, 1.25 liter, 54 hp, 4-cylinder engine, 4-speed transmission and suspension packages to Gilco.

The Carrozzeria Motto Coachworks made the aluminum body and Gilberto Columbo supplied the tubular chassis. Syd Envener of MG's racing department was responsible for supplying the engine, transmission and suspension package.

Fred Allen and Martin Block raced these Motto MGs extensively throughout the Midwest and East Coast. The driving team of Fred Allen and Gus Ehrman finished 11th overall and 5th in class at the 1954 12-hours of Sebring. This race was won by Stirling Moss and Bill Lloyd in an Osca MT4 which was in the same class as the Motto. The Motto finished ahead of two other Oscas, two Porsche 550 Spyders and two Kieft MGs which was exactly what Dave Ash, MG and Inskip Motors set out to prove.

These pictures are brought to you courtesy of AUTO-SALON-SINGEN, a German based collectors car dealer.

Data:
Engine: 4 cylinders
Capacity: 1,466 ccm
Power: 81 HP

Mg TD "Motto Race", at the same time as Ferrari its Barchetta presented and produced, caught Cliff Davis at its Cooper mg to build.	David Ash assigned body farmer the Motto, during and the 50's 40's the sports car sketched the development of a body for the mg TD.	He built together with Gilco three tubenfoermige framework chassis also late running drove. A vehicle was destroyed with this running.	Running took at that time 12 hours and it was first running by F.I.A. was sanctioned.	It was the first long-distance running America that had international status. The course was 5.2 miles long.	MG specially David Ash and John van Driel drove good 4. Place.	Gus honouring man and Fred everything drove 1954 on (Motto-specially) a 11. Place. 1953 drove David Ash to its MG special on the 3. Place behind two OSCA`s.
This MG special was named Motto and had a 81 HP engine with 1.466 ccm bore.	The body is streamlined and is installed on a chassis.	To the equipment the slogans MG`s running bars belonged and a running clutch.	According to previous owner the vehicle shown here is the last existing vehicle of three built copies.	It is rare that such a fine example of a piece from racing history is preserved.	The car number is TD 29575 and is marked a Sports Speciale	Body tag ID.

More Motto TD pictures.

Pictures above supplied by The Creative Workshop

Schiaretti MGTD

The Schiaretti may not be strictly an racing MGTD but it is a one-off car that looks like it was designed for racing so I am going to put it on this page. The car was originally a regular 1952 MGTD (20325) that was imported into Italy by Fattori & Montani. It took four years for Schiaretti to convert the car to this form.

The history of this unique model is described by John Pressnell in the journal Enjoying MG 2006. It is a TD Midget manufactured in 1952 and sold to Edward Petot, an American soldier stationed in Italy. He says the bodybuilder V. Schiaretti converted the car with this special aluminum body in 1956. The car was modified with: double Weber carburettors, alloy casing, special intake manifold, Mallory distributor, Andrex dampers, Alfin brakes, master cylinder and pedal original to a Lancia, etc.. The car returned to the U.S. in 1959 and reappeared in 1991 in its original state. Pressnell but says nothing about the bodybuilder, otherwise it would be a native of Parma, which seems confirmed by this shield in the insignia of the brand. In fact, we find the name of Virgilio Scharietti as bodybuilder car Renato Valenzi using a chassis and engine Ermini (first 1100cc and a 1500cc). After working on the 1100 Fiat and Alfa 2500, Pasquino Ermini built its own engines in 1949, installed in many cars. Ermini also build its own cars based on a Gilco chassis, originally, with a body Tofani. It could not satisfy the demand, other bodybuilders became involved, including Motto Morelli Scaglietti or Frua. It is clear that the MG TD Schiaretti Ermini is largely inspired by models of the time, especially one of them bodied by Mariani in 1951.

Photos from Enjoying MG.

Dries van der Lof MG Special

This car was part of the 5 cars destined to Germany but refused by customs. See the Veth MG. Dries van der Lof turned it into a custom race car and it still exists today.

Home | History | Details | Myths, Tips and FAQs | Literature | Entertainment | Gallery | Links | Map