It could not be said that the MGF was under-developed, and the first production cars were ready for customer distribution by September 1995. The first production car, was actually built on 24th July 1995 and, following an MG tradition after the Abingdon Works phone number of Oxford 251, it was given the VIN 000251. That car was on display at the British Motor Museum for several years but is now back in the private MG Motor UK collection.
The MGF was released in two variations – the standard 1.8i and the VVC (released in March 1996) giving differing power levels but largely the same trim. They all came with remote central locking and dead locking, volumetric and perimetric alarm system, heated door mirrors and electric windows, The VVC had additional high level rear brake light, EPAS, anti-lock braking and half or full leather seats.
Several options and accessories were also made available to order such as fog lamps, air-conditioning, hard tops, passenger air bags and even mechanical hoods.
The MGF had an overfull order book by September thanks to the long lead time between the launch and the customer models being ready. Such was the excitement for a new MG that dealers pre-order books were overflowing.
The car was initially launched in just six colours – flame red, white diamond, British racing green, charcoal, amaranth and volcano with volcano being the “halo” colour as it was the most unusual (and regrettably the one least ordered!). In 1997 they would be joined by Tahiti blue, nightfire red and platinum silver.
| MGF | 1.8i | VVC |
| Cylinders | 4 | 4 |
| Fuel Supply | MPI | MPI VVC |
| CC | 1796cc | 1796cc |
| Compression Ratio | 10,5:1 | 10,5:1 |
| Valve Gear | DOCH | DOHC VVC |
| Ignition | Electronic | Electronic |
| Max Power | 118bhp at 5500revs | 143bhp at 7000revs |
| Max Torque | 122lb ft at 3000revs | 128lb ft at 4500revs |
| Wheels | 6×15″ alloys | 6×15″ square spoke alloys |
| Tyres | 185/55 (f) 205/50 (r) | 215/40 all round |
| Brakes | Discs all round | Discs all round |
| Max Speed | 123mph | 131mph |
The standard models were updated towards the end of 1999 for the 2000 Model Year, but these were largely cosmetic changes. The black windscreen surround and wing mirrors were now colour coded and the instruments changed to silver-faced plus a new design of centre console. Electrically adjusted wing mirrors, some new trim, newly designed seats and an adjustable steering column, clear indicators and square-spoke 16” alloys were also part of the update. The in-car entertainment was also improved with a CD player and six-speaker stereo. These cars are sometimes referred to as a “Mark 2” MGF. There was no mechanical change however a new variant was introduced – the steptronic which featured a continuously variable gearbox (or CVT) transmission using either the central gear stick of two “paddle shift” buttons on the steering wheel which could be selected in automatic or a semi-automatic “manual” mode.
By 2000, however, BMW were looking to offload the Rover Group and more changes would come in 2001 as a result of BMW pulling out of the business. The new owners would soon make capital of the freedom from the constraints of BMW with the introduction of two new MGF models including the MGF Trophy 160, which, technically, was a special edition but effectively was the ultimate range-topping production MGF.
