With the introduction of the M Type Midget at the 1928 Olympia Motor Show, Cecil Kimber single-handedly created the market for small, cheap sports cars.

Selling for £175, Kimber’s new baby was based on the contemporary Morris Minor and featured pretty, boat-tailed, fabric coachwork by the Coventry-based coachbuilder, Carbodies.

The 847cc, overhead-camshaft, four-cylinder engine derived from that of the Wolseley Ten, and mated to this little gem of a power unit was a three-speed crash gearbox.

Produced initially at Cowley, the Midget proved to be a strong seller and production transferred to Abingdon when the MG factory moved there in the autumn of 1929.

M-Types were awarded the Team Prize in the 1930 Double Twelve 24-hour race at Brooklands and this success provided a welcome boost to sales, which amounted to 3,253 cars by the time production ceased in 1933.

Capitalising on its Brooklands success, MG produced 30 Double Twelve Replicas, which featured many of the modifications made...