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DEMONSTRATION DAY - July 14, 1958* - TC-130D
Launch of the MGA Twin Cam - (Pg 4)

(*various reports of the actual day of demonstration, 14, 15, 16, or 18).

Here is a picture from SPORTS CAR & LOTUS OWNER - August 1958. See complete magazine article on page TC-130i.


There is a picture in SPORTS CAR ILLUSTRATED UK - Sept 1958 which shows PMO 946 at the launch day. That gets us up to four known Twin Cams at launch day. See complete article on page TC-130j.


MODERN MOTOR Magazine (Australia), September 1958, has an article with author noting a total of six Twin Cam cars at press and demo day.
p52:
"Six of the new jobs were waiting there for us. Apart from the Dunlop centre-lock disc wheels, and the name Twin-Cam, spelt out in chromed letters alongside the scuttle air-exit grills and on the boot-lid, they didn't look any different from the normal MG A."
p53:
"The Chobham testing-ground includes a twisty, slightly banked two-mile circuit, and we belted those six Twin-Cams around it with will."

The only photos with this article were factory issued publicity photos (including PJB147 which may not have been there), none actually taken at Demo Day. As such the identity of the remaining cars is still unknown. With no picture to support this article, it may not even be certain that there were six Twin Cam cars.

So far we have photos of four cars being there:
    501   PMO326   "Team Work"
    502   PMO325   "Team Work"
    503   VLP500   "Safety Fast" August 1962 and "Sports Car & Lotus Owner" Aug 1958
    530   PMO946   "Sports Car Illustrated" September 1958
Word from Jim Cox (not there) for this car being there:
    500   ORX885  
Publicity photos only for:
    499   PJB147
So we have photos of 4 known cars, at least a 5th unknown car in one picture, and a note of 6 cars in one magazine article. The truth may never be know (but we can keep looking).


Addemdum March 5, 2009:
Add two pushrod Coupes present at press release day, one known to be PBL 497.

At 03:50 PM 3/5/2009 +0000, Mark Hester wrote:
>"I've just have pulled back from the ITN/Reuters archive a 6 min film of the Chobham Launch day from 15th July 1958.
>
>It features: EX181, PMO 325, PMO 326, VLP 500, PMO 946
>
>PBL 497 - Pushrod Coupe (White), ??? ??? - Pushrod Coupe
>
>I did not see ORX 885 or my PJB 147
>
>Extensive in car filming the car behind shots, under bonnet shots, various people, plus mechanics in white overalls working on the cars.
>....
>This file is 400Mb and presumably still copyright, but I'm currently looking into getting my Reuters mates to uploaded somewhere for short period of time so you can all view it.
>
>Not sure if there is sound at this stage.
>
>Text Script here:
>http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//RTV/1958/07/15/BGY503040254/?s=mga "

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