Somewhere in the UK, a lady had a great idea. She wanted a classic MG to tool around in, but didn’t want the one-on-every-corner MGB that most go for. Nor did she want any possibility of breaking down. So she went to Abingdon’s Frontline Cars, who make MGBs bulletproof (and electric… and V8-powered) and asked them to work their magic.
Perhaps it was the right combination of sunny afternoon, British countryside, and classic British sports car. Perhaps it wasn’t. But this was one of the best experiences I’ve had in a car in 2025.
Let’s back up a bit—what is Frontline? It’s a business that restomods MGBs. It started off as a company that modified MG Midgets for racing, but as time went on, Frontline realized it could take the world’s plentiful supply of B’s and make them quicker, more reliable, and more luxurious.
The lady with a good idea didn’t want an MGB, though; she wanted an MGA. Older and sleeker than the B, the A’s shape appealed to her, and lo, the Frontline MGA Factory Edition was born.
You can have an MGA with a 2.0 or 2.5-liter Mazda-derived four cylinder that’s been delightfully reworked (with ITBs..!) to produce 225 or 290 horsepower. Whichever motor you choose is hooked up to the famously brilliant Mazda MX-5 gearbox to ensure slick shifting and big grins.
The brakes and springs have been swapped out too, the chassis has been reinforced, and the wooden floors have been replaced with steel for better ride and handling. Pleasingly, there’s a Quaife limited slip differential fitted too.
Frontline’s treatment doesn’t stop at making an MG go better, either. This A’s interior is covered in sumptuous leather, with alloy bucket seats to keep you in place during spirited driving. There’s even a USB slot, Bluetooth audio, and it’s all hidden away so you can keep your phone charged for on-the-fly Google Maps. While the dials are all as they were in period, the electrics powering them are modern, so they shouldn’t go all 1950s on you and conk out at an inconvenient moment.
Frontline’s demonstrator was built to look like the standard car, but the firm says you can happily ask for a de-bumpered car fitted with a perspex racing screen if you want to look like you’re going endurance racing, too. They’ll make you a convertible or a coupe, depending on preference as well.
There’s a lot to love about the whole deal, though it comes at a cost: £145,000 ($195,000) plus local taxes, so it’s one for the more committed enthusiasts out there. That said, Frontline’s prowess is proven, which means you can rest assured the work going into the car isn’t half-assed.
Whichever motor you choose is hooked up to the famously brilliant Mazda MX-5 gearbox to ensure slick shifting and big grins.
On a sunny day in the UK, folding yourself into the cockpit is a joy—though one that requires some work if you’re tall. The MGA is not a capacious car. The controls are all pleasingly classic. Smiths dials are neatly laid out over the stunning dash.
Everything works as you’d expect, bar the indicators, which are on a toggle switch to the right of the wheel. Pull the lever to the left to indicate right, and vice versa. It takes a while to get used to, and the mechanism is a bit soft, but once you know what you’re doing, you’ll be fine.
Classics, restored or otherwise, can be a bit of a crapshoot to set off in. The risk of stalling a shiny car that draws the eye is ever present, and in the MGA, you really don’t want to be ‘that guy.’ The Mazda ‘box puts those fears to bed.
It’s easy to slot into gear, and the light clutch is a joy to roll away slinkily from a stop. In town, it’s easy to thread the MGA through any gap you’d care to mention. It's a car from the 50s, when everything was smaller and actually fit on the UK’s roads (the less said about safety regulations the better… ahem), so you needn’t worry about peeling bits off the side. Even if that was a concern, the MG’s body is low and easy to see over, which allows for last-moment bum proppage to make sure you’re in a good place on the road.
The visibility is a genuine highlight. The windshield is large enough to keep bees out of your retinas, and there’s no roll hoop to speak of. Being narrow and roofless, the rear view mirror does the job of the (absent because old car) wing mirrors, and if you do need to do a lifesaver check, you don’t need to turn your head too far to see over the back of the low trunkline.
You’ll get eyes on you in town, and you’ll have a lovely time gently parping around as though the '50s never ended. But to go full ‘post-war fun’, you need to head to the country. Usually, when you’re driving an older car, it feels somewhat cruel to push the motor. The MGA sounds tremendous on a trundle, and you’ll pick up a decent clip without bother. However, when I looked at the rev counter, I saw that rolling up to 4,500 rpm was barely touching the sides of its range.
Usually, when you’re driving an older car, it feels somewhat cruel to push the motor. The MGA sounds tremendous on a trundle, and you’ll pick up a decent clip without bother.
A suitably straight bit of road found, I gave it some welly and the thing soared far, far higher, letting out a beautiful noise as it went. Loud, glorious parps flew from the rear, plastering a big grin on my face as they did so. In 225 hp spec, with 178 pound-feet on tap, it feels plenty quick.
The gas pedal has decent feel. A gentle push to get you going leads to smooth progression, allowing for parps-ahoy. Frontline says it’ll get from 0-60mph in 4.8 seconds and will apparently hit 155mph. With a suitably clear road and a heavy right foot, that’s more than believable. There’s only 815 kg to shift, so modest power is more than enough.
Scrubbing the speed off is down to a set of chunky brakes, front and rear. There’s no ABS to save you in a pinch, which means you need to learn them, and the pedal’s on the heavy side. Once you’ve figured it all out, they’re great, but don’t go in thinking you can brake like a Golf.
Parps are one element of the fun, the handling is a cherry on top. Double wishbones with Frontline’s own dampers live up front, with five-links and Frontline telescopic dampers at the rear. The MGA simply glides around the tight ‘n twisties. The ride can get jarring on some of the UK’s more… lumpy roads, but that’s par for the course with old British metal no matter how much you do to it. It’s all part of the fun.
Frontline’s steering is a joy, too. A neatly-sized Motolita ‘wheel is your connection to the road. It’s assisted at low speeds (in this car - it can be adjusted to driver preference) because old cars are heavy buggers, but once you’re at speed it’s all you. It’s well weighted and gives you confidence that you know where the car’s going to go.
Wind in your hair (or beard), sun shining, and engine on song, Frontline’s take on the MGA is nothing short of unfiltered happiness. The sounds it makes, the smell of its leather interior, the feel of its wood-rimmed wheel, the look of the thing… it all adds up to a uniquely British experience. You may even end up tasting an errant bee if one slips over the windshield.
Yes, it’s expensive and still comes with 1950s sports car compromises, so it’s not for everyone, but that’s part of its charm.
