\r\n\r\nAs you might imagine we at MotorPunk are a pretty patriotic bunch, but, to be honest, 1995 wasn’t a particularly great year for quirky, quick or charismatic motors from Blighty’s biggest marques; British Leyland was now under the cosh of the Bayerische Motoren Werke and Lotus was, yet again, on the brink of bankruptcy thanks to its ageing Esprit and a poor selling Elan M100. However, by the autumn of ’95 there was a wave of expectation around the Geneva Motor Show at the unveiling of the first all-new MG for 32 years.\r\n\r\nBefore I say any more about the MGF I want you to try and imagine a world where the MX-5 hadn’t been born - a kind of automotive version of It’s a Wonderful Life if you like. Let’s pretend that Lotus had managed to slam Mazda with a copyright lawsuit for its brazen cloning of their ‘60s Elan; if today the world’s back roads weren’t awash with a million Miata and their brethren then I am sure that even the most cynical of Motorpunk’s readership would be enthusiastic about MG’s 1.8-litre, mid-engined, open-topped, rear wheel-drive, two-seater sports car.\r\n“£995 could buy you a 1997 48k minter” \r\n\r\nI’m quite aware there are no two letters more likely to turn off a good chunk of Motorpunk’s target audience than the characters M and G. But before you start sniggering with your mates about head gasket failures, parts bin scavenging and owners’ clubs comprised of bearded tweed fetishists, you should know that 77,212 Mk1 MGFs were snapped up across the UK in its seven year run (until the second generation MG TF arrived in 2002) to outsell both the MX-5 and the MR2. At launch the hottest VVC version offered 143bhp and tipped the scales at just over a tonne. While this doesn’t sound a lot by today’s standards the MGF’s 136bhp/tonne outclassed the “Gold Standard” hot hatch of its day, the Mk3 Golf GTi 16v, which coughed up a mere 127bhp/tonne. The little roadster also boasted power assisted steering, remote central and dead locking, immobiliser, electric windows, heated door mirrors, ABS and leather trim. In 1995 styling of the car was judged “a successful blend of old and new” with design cues that “harked back to the last of the MGBs” mixed with a soupçon of Ferrari 250LM. Personally, I don’t think it’s dated too badly, especially when compared to stuff like the Mk2 MR2. \r\n\r\nFamous owners have included ginger-haired lothario Mick Hucknall (right), who, like his