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MGA Developments Limited in Allesley/Coventry was established in 1979 as a company making design models. The firm got a reputation as pioneers in CAD and grew quickly; after ten years the number of employees had reached 260, of which 40 were designers and 35 were CAD/CAM specialists. They did development and finishing work for several renowned car manufacturers not only in Britain, but also abroad. In 1987 they presented the Vega design study, based on the Toyota MR2, to demonstrate their skills. And then, in 1989, MGA chairman and car enthusiast Mike Gibbs decided to build and present a nearly production-ready prototype. The men in charge at MGA decided they wanted a small sports car in the spirit of the 1958 Austin-Healey Sprite, which had become a design icon with its frogeye headlights.
Under the direction of MGA design boss Peter Horbury, the employees created - more or less on their own spare time - a mock-up which received much praise when shown at exhibitions. From this model a fully driveable prototype was developed and presented as production-ready. It was taken into account that this kind of small sports car should be manufactured and sold as cheaply as possible. The price was estimated to between 5.000 and 8.000 pounds, so it should be possible for "young customers up to their thirties" to buy it. Somewhat strangely, the MGA crew chose to call their concept car Hotdog.
The Hotdog was based on the newly introduced Ford Fiesta XR2i. Its 1.6-litre, 110hp front-drive unit was considered suitable for a lightweight roadster. The chassis with its quite long wheelbase of 244.5 cm was carried over unchanged, to keep costs down. As it was all about Ford mechanicals, the designers equipped the Hotdog with Ford's family face with a narrow grille and recognisable headlights; later, even the Ford oval was added. On top of the slippery, open body there was no ordinary windscreen, just a small, racing-like diffusor. This was meant to be changed, should the car ever enter production.
The front and rear bumper design was carried on along the sides of the car, with white paint, while the rest of the glassfiber body was finished in a screaming yellow color. Although the steering wheel and instrument panel were lifted from Ford's supply, the MGA designers had come up with a unique dashboard and a quite special interior: Between the two racing seats they placed a third seat, half-way integrated into the rear compartment. With the MGA Hotdog the designers had developed a small sports car, with which the British auto industry could have reclaimed a part of its lost ground.
Body: Roadster (without windows and roof), 2 doors, 3 seats, glassfiber.
Engine: Ford Fiesta XR2i, 4 cylinders, 1.598 cm³, 110 hp at 6000 rpm, 138 Nm at 2800 rpm.
Measurements: Wheelbase 244.5 cm, track 140.5/137.5 cm.
