Don Hayter is often described as the father of the MGB & was closely involved with its styling & development after joining the MG design office in February 1956 following a similar role at Aston Martin He rose to become MG's Chief Engineer & kept the MGB one step ahead of the ever-changing safety legislation in the seventies while making a profit for BMCBL at a time when many other divisions didn't When MG's Abingdon factory closed in 1980 he sold himself an unused 'development' bodyshell (for &163;93955) & 35-litre V8 engine then built himself the only factory-made MGB V8 roadster (factory V8s were all GTs) the last MGB to leave Abingdon Although the MGB was eighteen years old when MG was unexpectedly closed Don & his team had been working on an update for the profitable US market using the O-series 2-litre OHC engine (including a very quick O-turbo) larger brakes & other modifications Twenty or more redundant pilot-build bodyshells were left from this project & it was one of these that Don bought; identifiable because the inner-wing was reshaped for fuel injection The car also features the first MG-badged rocker covers cast which had been left unused in the development department It has appeared in many magazines & TV programmes while still in Don's ownership including an episode of Clarkson's Car Years & is now owned by long standing MG enthusiast Berkshire-based Edward Vandyk Dimensions 7 x 67 x 152 Scale 143 Limited Edition Yes Limited Edition Size 1000 Length 91mm Age Suitability 14