Barn-find MG Magnette turned Goodwood contender now offers entry to historic racing
Discovered abandoned in a garage, this 1956 MG Magnette evolved into a competitive historic racer and Goodwood regular, now offered ready to race with proven pedigree.
Bumble was formerly raced under the name Emma, and there was another Bumble…
Jeff Bloxham
Any time you move into a new house, chances are the previous owner has left it full of junk worthy only of a trip to the dump. Not so for Roger Andreason, the engineer, racing driver, entrepreneur and one-time boss of Chevron Cars who, on taking over a new home in the 1970s, discovered this MG Magnette had been left behind in the garage.
1.8-litre engine
Jeff Bloxham
A regular road-going Magnette when Andreason inherited it, he soon put his considerable talent as a race engineer to good use by converting it for the track so he could compete as an early member of the Classic Saloon Car Club founded in 1974.
Naming it Emma, he raced the car for two seasons in the pre-1957 class with such good results that he fell in love with Magnettes and built three more into competition cars – respectively Bumble, Mr Pip and the third a name that can no longer be used in print.
A regular on track in recent years
JF Classics
Each was liveried brown and cream, with Emma winning the pre-1957 championship before being sold to fellow racer David Burrows who repainted it red – and subsequently re-sold it back to Andreason, who eventually put it back on the road as a daily driver.
As well as getting him from A to B, the car’s road legal status also enabled Andreason to delve into the world of historic rallying, during which time Emma completed multiple editions of the classic Monte Carlo.
Clean inside and out
JF Classics
He finally parted with the car when he was forced to hand it over as part of a divorce settlement, after which it ended up in France before being acquired by historic motor sport impresario Julius Thurgood who – somewhat confusingly – repainted Emma in the Bumble livery it still wears today (but which was never applied to the actual Bumble…)
Thurgood helped to put the car well and truly on the historic racing map with several outings at the Goodwood Revival, including an 11th place finish in the 2012 St Mary’s Trophy race and a 16th in 2014.
No stranger to Monte Carlo
JF Classics
Current owner Mike Lamplough has competed in the car for the past six years, mostly in the Historic Racing Drivers Club series and FISCAR invitation class, racking up a highly respectable ninth place in the Sopwith Cup race at the 2022 Revival along the way.
Lamplough, who has been moved to sell the Bumble/Emma Magnette for medical reasons, is offering the car with a recently renewed Goodwood Technical Declaration, a spare engine block and an assortment of other useful parts.
Repainted and rewired not long ago, it also benefits from a rebuilt 1840cc motor which produced a healthy 128bhp at 5250rpm at its last dyno test.
Offered in turnkey condition and ready to race, the surprisingly competitive Magnette offers a quick, easy and relatively affordable entry into historic saloon racing – and could feasibly see its new owner on the Goodwood circuit at this year’s Revival.
Brown and cream livery
JF Classics
If you haven’t already seen Emma perform in real life, there’s some exciting in-car footage of it at goodwood.com.
1956 MG MAGNETTE
On sale with Mike Lamplough, Trowbridge, Wiltshire. Asking price: £27,500. Tel: 01299 556683
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