Frontline MGA Factory Edition review: Best of British
Blatting between overgrown hedgerows, past a village green and a country pub, the little MG seems energised by the sunshine that dapples its polished chrome and British Racing Green coachwork. This could easily be a scene from 1955, and the idyllic England that lives in our collective imagination. From the driver’s seat, though, it feels more like 2025 – and on balance, that’s definitely a good thing.
You see, whatever the flat cap fraternity might tell you, old MGs aren’t very nice to drive. Jump aboard an MGA today and you’ll discover an asthmatic engine, stodgy handling and woeful brakes. Not to mention intermittent electrics, candle-power headlamps and a propensity for overheating. Much like the England that only existed in Enid Blyton novels, the reality doesn’t live up to the dream. That’s where Frontline Cars comes in.
Based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire – near the site of the former MG factory – Frontline has been making British sports cars better since 1991. The bulk of its business is spare parts, but the company has also built several MGB ‘Factory Edition’ restomods, including the V8-powered LE60 and electric BEE GT that I drove in 2023. Now, to mark the MGA’s 70th anniversary, it too has received the Factory Edition treatment.
Starting from scratch
“We knew we could take the MGA to another level,” says Tim Fenna, founder and chief engineer at Frontline Cars. “We sought to preserve the best bits, and enhance the elements that were feeling a bit 1950s. Our job is to honour the past while pushing these cars into a new era.”
Each Frontline MGB restomod begins with a new body shell from British Motor Heritage. However, because its MGA predecessor was made in smaller numbers (around 100,000 cars, compared to more than half-a-million MGBs), this start-from-scratch approach isn’t possible: a full restoration is the only option. Also, while the MGB used unibody construction, the ‘A’ had a separate chassis. It adds up to “nearly twice as much work”, explains Frontline sales director, Conner Matthews.
Once a donor MGA is found, the hard graft – all 3,000 hours of it – can begin. The vehicle is stripped down and restored to better-than-new condition, with the engine, gearbox, suspension, brakes and numerous other parts all upgraded. The end result costs £174,000 including VAT but excluding the original car (reckon on between £15,000 and £20,000, for a suitable donor, says Matthews). Factory Editions will be produced at a rate of one per month, with the order book currently stretching to two years. Worth the wait? Let’s find out…
A powerful heart transplant
When it first rolled out of Abingdon in 1955, the MGA had a twin-carb 1,489cc engine and four-speed manual transmission. Maximum power was a modest 68hp: good for 0-60mph in 16.0 seconds and 97.8mph when tested by The Motor magazine.
Frontline offers a choice of two naturally aspirated four-cylinder Ford engines for the Factory Edition, each far more potent than any BMC B-series. The standard option, fitted to this demo car, displaces 2.0 litres and develops 225hp, plus 178 lb ft of torque at 4,500rpm. Upgrade to the 2.5-litre engine and those numbers are 290hp and 243lb ft. Either way, drive reaches the rear wheels via the five-speed manual ’box from a last-generation ‘NC’ Mazda MX-5.
With a dry weight of just 815kg – an impressive 85kg lighter than the original MGA – performance is lively. The 2.0-litre car sprints from 0-60mph in 4.8 seconds; the 2.5 version takes just 4.1 seconds. In both cases, top speed is 155mph.
As you’d expect, Frontline has upgraded the MGA’s suspension and stopping ability to suit. Bilstein telescopic dampers are fitted at the front, while the rear leaf spring is replaced by an adjustable five-link setup from Nitron. Brakes are ventilated discs with four-piston front calipers, which are tucked inside traditional wire wheels or racing-style Dunlop alloys. Bridgestone Potenza tyres are the same as those worn by the Volkswagen Golf R.
Inside the MGA Factory Edition
I reach inside to pull the door release cord (there are no external handles) then nestle down into artfully aged leather, facing bespoke Smiths gauges and a wood-rimmed wheel. Frontline’s alloy ‘tub seats’ are shaped to fit each buyer and their preferred passenger, and can be heated on request. Other optional mod-cons include air conditioning, a wireless smartphone charger and a Bluetooth audio system.
Twist the key, pull a Bakelite organ stop and the engine fires with a throaty bark. The clutch is nicely weighted, the MX-5 shift feels well-oiled and the electric power steering (adjustable via a dial beneath the dashboard) makes maneuvering easy. Shorter and narrower than a Ford Fiesta, the MG feels delightfully compact, my right elbow jutting out over the low-cut door. On a warm spring day, the feelgood factor is immense.
Climbing the Berkshire Downs on flowing, picturesque roads that will look familiar to anyone who reads UK car magazines, the MG feels alert and exuberant. Its Ford Duratec engine revs freely – Frontline has raised the limiter from 7,250rpm to 7,750rpm – and serves up performance that would have been unthinkable 70 years ago. It sounds wonderfully evocative, too, from the snort of individual throttle bodies to the rasp of a stainless steel exhaust.
Roadster or racing-inspired coupe
The Factory Edition will also be offered as a coupe, inspired by the period racer that won its class at Le Mans. “Imagine a Sebring MGA reinterpretation with a louvred bonnet, Perspex screen and a set of roundels on the doors,” says Tim Fenna. Such a car would likely have a firmer, more track-focused setup, but in roadster guise the MG is intentionally geared towards touring, with a pliant ride and more body-roll than today’s sports cars. You could cover long distances easily, reassured by the 10,000-mile service intervals and one-year/unlimited mileage warranty.
On the rural lanes that seem like its natural habitat, the MGA is joyful. Its steering jostles with feedback and its Nitron suspension – a kit Frontline has supplied for more than 2,000 MGs since 2005 – strikes a great balance between comfort and precision. Unlike many modified cars, it feels like a complete and harmonious package. The temptation, of course, would be to choose the 290hp engine, but I wonder if less is more in this case. Adding power might erode the car’s easygoing character.
The shallow screen and doors create a very exposed and open feel: wonderful in the sun-soaked countryside, less so when alongside an artic lorry at the lights. And if the weather turns a bit ‘British’, this particular car has a clip-on hood, although Frontline expects most Factory Editions to be roofless barchettas.
Verdict: Frontline MGA Factory Edition
By the time you’ve customised a Factory Edition to your exact specification (options for paint, trim and accessories are almost limitless), you will likely have spent north of £200,000. Brand new supercar money, in other words.
That seems a lot for a relatively simple sports car with a four-cylinder engine. However, the Factory Edition is certainly more exclusive than any entry-level Aston Martin or McLaren. And while slower, it’s just as rewarding to drive on UK roads (the real ones, full of traffic, potholes, speed cameras and other delights of modern motoring). To borrow a phrase from Conner Matthews, this is “the classic car experience without the foibles”.
And when you’ve finished driving your MGA, you can enjoy just staring at it. More curvaceous and low-slung than an MGB, its shape is beautifully simple – and made more so by Frontline’s custom LED headlamps, which allow the removal of the indicators and sidelights. Finally, here’s a piece of old England that’s as lovely as it looks.
PRICE: From £174,000
POWER: 225hp
TORQUE: 178lb ft
0-62MPH: 4.8sec
TOP SPEED: 155mph
DRY WEIGHT: 815kg