British Motor Corporation does not build many cars like the MG 14/40: a 2-door, 2 and 4 seater open tourer / 2 door coupé (Salonette) / 4-door saloon with 1802 cc four cylinder, side valve, built from 1927 to 1929 the vintage years, when coachbuilders still shaped most of what was sold.
The story
The MG 14/40 or MG 14/40 Mark IV is a sports car that was made by MG and launched in 1927. It was based on the contemporary Morris Oxford flatnose and was a development of the MG 14/28 and was built at Edmund Road, Cowley, Oxford where MG had moved in September 1927. During production it became the first model to carry an MG Octagon badge on its radiator, the previous cars had retained a Morris Oxford badge.
The change of name from 14/28 to 14/40 seems mainly to have been a marketing exercise and the reason for the Mark IV is unclear although it has been suggested that it represented the fourth year of production. Externally the cars are very difficult to tell apart. There were some changes to the 14/28 chassis and suspension and the brake servo was deleted. Production ended in 1929, after approximately 700 cars had been built.
What is underneath
Under the skin sits 1802 cc four cylinder, side valve. The gearbox is a three speed manual. The wheelbase is 106 inches (2705 mm). These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
Where it sits in British Motor Corporation's history is not in doubt: the MG 14/28 came before it; the MG 18/80 followed it; it was built at Cowley, Oxford, England, United Kingdom. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Vauxhall 20-60, the Hispano-Suiza Type H6 B (32 cv) coupé-chauffeur, the Bugatti type 30 A torpedo. Nearby in the British Motor Corporation catalogue sit the Austin 10 and the Austin 12.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the MG 14/40 has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.