This MG Midget auction result turned into one of those wonderfully busy little sales where bids seem to come from everywhere at once.
We opened the reel with a simple question:
Who likes a Midget?
Quite a few people, as it turned out.
This 1971 MG Midget MkIII went under the hammer at Anglia Car Auctions with a £2,750 to £3,750 estimate.
Then the bidding started.
And once it got going, there was very little time to pause.
The MG Midget is one of those classics that hardly needs an introduction.
Small.
Light.
Simple.
Open-top.
And built around the idea that you really don’t need enormous power to have fun.
The Midget shared much of its DNA with the Austin-Healey Sprite and became one of the most accessible British sports cars of its era.
For decades, cars like this have given people a relatively affordable route into classic sports-car ownership.
That remains a big part of their appeal today.
This particular car had an interesting little detail.
Anglia Car Auctions described it as a late square-arch MkIII, registered only a few days before production moved over to the round-arch cars in December 1971.
That places it right on the cusp of a styling change that matters to Midget enthusiasts.
The square rear wheelarches gave way to the rounded arches that became one of the most recognisable features of later chrome-bumper Midgets.
So while this was not some ultra-rare limited edition, it did sit at an interesting point in the model’s development.
It also looked the part.
The car was finished in Blaze Orange, which suited the tiny sports-car shape brilliantly.
There is something about bright colours on small 1960s and 1970s sports cars that just works.
They were never meant to be subtle executive machines.
A Midget should look cheerful.
This one did.
Under the bonnet sat the familiar 1098cc engine, paired with a manual gearbox.
By modern standards, the figures are modest.
But that rather misses the point.
A Midget is tiny and light enough that you don’t need huge power to make it entertaining.
The experience is about sitting low, being close to the road and having very little between you and what the car is doing.
That’s what makes them fun.
The odometer showed 84,321 miles when the car arrived at auction.
The vendor had bought it around 18 months earlier with the intention of using it regularly, but personal circumstances had prevented that from happening.
According to ACA, the Midget had passed an advisory-free MoT the previous year, although that test had since expired.
As a historic vehicle, it is MoT exempt.
The history file included a few receipts from 2018 onwards, a collection of old tax discs and the V5C.
That V5C recorded five former keepers.
The vendor also told ACA that the car had recently received:
He also advised that the rear suspension was noisy.
That’s exactly the sort of detail we like to see in an auction description.
It doesn’t pretend an old car is perfect.
It just gives bidders something useful to factor into their decision.
Anglia Car Auctions placed the estimate at:
£2,750 to £3,750.
For a bright, usable-looking chrome-bumper Midget, that was always going to attract attention.
And it did.
This was one of those auctions where it became difficult to keep track.
The bidding was moving in £100 increments.
Room bids.
Internet bids.
Then another one straight back.
And another.
It quickly turned into a proper little race.
No huge jumps.
No dramatic £5,000 leap.
Just bidder after bidder inching the car upwards.
That can be every bit as entertaining to watch.
Once the bidding settled into those £100 steps, the Midget kept climbing.
Every time it looked as though things might pause, another bid appeared.
Watch the auction below and see where you would have stopped:
Eventually, the hammer fell at:
£4,500.
With Anglia Car Auctions’ buyer’s premium added, the final total was:
£4,860.
That put the result comfortably above the £2,750 to £3,750 estimate.
Not by an enormous amount.
But enough to show there was proper demand in the room and online.
Part of the answer is probably simplicity.
There is very little mystery about an MG Midget.
It is a small British sports car with straightforward mechanicals and enormous parts support.
There is a huge enthusiast community around them.
There are specialists.
There are clubs.
And almost every part you could realistically need is available.
That matters.
Especially for people buying their first classic.
A Midget also has something many bigger classics struggle to replicate.
It feels special at low speeds.
You don’t need to be doing 100mph to enjoy one.
A country lane at sensible speeds can feel like an event.
The car is small.
The windscreen is close.
The bonnet stretches out in front of you.
And every input feels immediate.
That is the appeal.
Prices for many classic sports cars have climbed significantly over the years.
MGBs have become more valuable.
Triumph TRs can command serious money.
Early Sprites can be expensive.
Yet the Midget still sits in a relatively accessible part of the market.
That makes results like this interesting.
At £4,860 including premium, somebody bought a genuine 1970s British sports car for less than the price of many ordinary modern used cars.
That is still a compelling proposition.
What I liked most about this one was the pace.
There was no single bidder steamrolling everyone else.
No huge dramatic final jump.
Just lots of people wanting a piece of it.
£100.
Another £100.
Another.
And another.
That probably tells you more about the appeal of the MG Midget than any brochure ever could.
The guide topped out at £3,750.
The hammer eventually fell at £4,500.
So the interesting question is not simply whether that was cheap or expensive.
It is whether you would have gone another £100.
Then another.
Then another.
That is how auctions work.
And judging by the number of people getting involved, quite a few bidders clearly thought this little Midget was worth chasing.
Would you have kept your hand up?
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