The last of this model to leave the Abingdon assembly line in November 1979, this car marks the end of an era that had started fifty years earlier when the first M-type Midget was made.

The modern Midget was introduced in 1961 and was originally a badge-engineered version of the Austin-Healey Sprite. Until 1974 the Midget used the BMC A-series engine, whose capacity was gradually increased from 948 cc to 1275 cc over the years.

In 1975, however, the 1493 cc Triumph Spitfire engine was fitted and impact-proof plastic bumpers were introduced, both of which proved unpopular with MG enthusiasts. Nevertheless, the new model contributed 73,786 to the resounding production total of 226,440 Midgets made between 1961 and 1979.