An iconic ‘MG’ has made a return to the Land’s End Trial, 100 years after gaining a gold medal in the hands of company founder, Cecil Kimber
Thanks to a collaborative effort from the MG Car Club’s Devon & Cornwall Centre and Vintage Register, the British Motor Museum and the Motor Cycling Club Group, ‘Old Number One’ – perhaps more accurately referred to as ‘Kimber’s Special’ – visited Cornwall over the Easter weekend to mark the centenary of an important stepping stone in the creation of MG.
Old Number One was the first ‘MG’ purpose built for motorsport, seeking to capitalise upon the publicity from trials activity in the 1920s and establish the sporting credentials of the emerging marque. Usually displayed at the British Motor Museum’s Gaydon facility, Old Number One made its way to Land’s End on Good Friday, where it was pictured alongside the location’s famous signpost and made for quite a site, despite the cloud and mist.
On Saturday, reenactments of the car climbing ‘Old Bluehills’ took place, climbing the old section where Kimber was victorious a century previously. The British Motor Museum’s Head of Collections and Engagement, Stephen Laing, was at the wheel, with Curator Cat Boxall in the passenger seat. The weekend also saw the displayed in the showroom of local MG dealer, Hawkins, in Hayle.
