1972 MG BGT (manual)

Short throw gear stick close at hand, the rorty sports exhaust burbling behind you, and sparkling 70s Rostyles ready to roll, you feel like getting carried away in a spirited, involving drive. The 1800cc engine with twin carbs has plenty of pulling power for getting you up those twisty mountain roads, and sitting so low to the ground with your legs stretched out in front of you gives a feeling normally reserved for going far faster. Or you could proceed in a more civilised manner with a leisurely cruise in overdrive, pootling around without disturbing the contents of the picnic basket, just enjoying the admiring glances and the stunning scenery. Either way, it’ll be serious sports car hire fun!

Not being able to wipe the smile off your face?! OK the ride is somewhat bouncy, you won’t exactly hear a pin drop inside at full tilt with the windows open, and you’ll need to adapt your driving style to cope without power steering, ABS brakes or other modern aids.  Overall though, she’s pretty easy to drive with a reasonably light clutch – but you will need to be able to translate the miles per hour on the speedo into kilometers per hour for NZ roads.

Any car can have problems, and older cars probably have less to go wrong with them than their modern equivalents in the first place! This one’s done thousands of kilometers of trouble free motoring and whilst we’d love to guarantee that for your trip, in the unlikely event of issues you have roadside assistance included in your hire charge. Mainly original, the BGT has had several useful updates including to the seat belts, rear safety brake light, battery and cooling system. She’s regularly serviced and has to pass the Certificate of Fitness (CoF) test required for rental cars every 6 months. Please be aware though that the only real driver safety aid is you, the driver, and whilst good for its day, the car has nothing like the crash protection offered by modern cars.

Pretty pampered. Whilst she’s not quite concours, she’s certainly not down at heel. Inside, the seats and door linings have been re-covered, and the dashboard still sports it’s fully covered speckled black metallic finish, setting off the original all working chrome rimmed dials. Outside, you’ll need sunnies in our typical Nelson weather to admire her paintwork and acres of chrome, including the exhaust tail pipe which sets it all off nicely.

A surprising amount – 1 large suitcase and 2 medium holdalls can be easily swallowed by the hatch and the rear bench seat can take more, but if you pile it up too much it can eat into your rear vision. Please refer to the Seating & Luggage tab above for exact dimensions and do note she’s strictly a 2 seater.

Just like age, you never ask a lady her top speed, but you certainly feel like you’re shifting. Let’s just say whilst she’ll take a bit longer to keep up with modern equivalents at the legal limits, which she can quite happily do, you’ll have a lot more fun getting there. Just be prepared to satisfy her drinking habit unless you’re in overdrive most of the time!

“For people who like getting their fingernails dirty…..”

“Characterful, charming and good clean fun……and that’s just our fingernails….”

A car of character and charm for a real driving experience, proving that sports car hire is above all, fun! The MGB GT is an iconic car that is easy to drive, can fit a good amount of luggage, and is virtually guaranteed to get people smiling and talking wherever it goes. Condition inside and out is superb, with many mechanical updates. Being both a fixed top and a hatchback it is surprisingly practical, you can play your digital media through the 1970s stereo and boy does that exhaust note sound good!