1962 MG B Coune Coup

One of the more prolific classics is the British MGB. This car is commonplace among enthusiasts who still take advantage of it’s affordable price and genuine sporting performance.

MGB design was influenced by its predecessors, the series of MGAs which evolved and raced from 1955 through to 1962. Both cars shared the same B-Series engine, and both provided stability as foundation products for MG. So much so, over half a million Bs were built and sold.

BMC, the then umbrella company of Austin-Vanden Plas, Morris, MG, Wolseley, Riley and Austin Healy, planned the MGB to be an affordable car which would appeal to the export market. As a depature from the MGA’s design, the MGB was made around a monocoque steel chassis. Such construction took considerable development resources, but made the car cheaper to produce.

Being released in the 1962, the MGB beat the Mustang by two years and got a strong foothold on the American Market. For it’s price, the only shortcoming of the car was the lack of hardtop or coupe version. Since BMC was keen to meet customer demands, the MGB remained in progressive development throughout production and a removable hardtop was one of their first considerations.

Jacques Coune’s Coupe.

image: http://www.supercars.net/graphics/1963_mg_b_coune_coupe-2.gif

Before 1965, a coupe version of the MGB was not available. During that time, Jaques Coune was motivated to design and manufacture his coupe at his styling workshop in Belgium. For years, Jaques had redesigned any existing sports cars to his clients wishes but the MGB was of particular interest. It became his most successful product, in terms of production figures, and one of his best received designs.

Jaques was extensive in his work with the MGB. His coupes had an entirely new windscreen and other details including covered headlights and a pronounced tail. The result was graceful form which was appealing enough to sell over 50 copies.

Supposedly, Jaques tried to sell his design to BMC who rejected the car. BMC internally designed their own coupe which was refined by Pininfarina. If it weren’t for the 150 000 coupes made by BMC, surely Jaques would have sold more cars.

After the MGBs, Jaques moved on to create other intriguingly distinct cars.

The example seen above was shot by Dirk de Jager at the 2004 Techno Classica. It is one of the twelve surviving Coune Coupes.

Story by Richard Owen for Supercars.net

In Detail

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