Miata Mailing List: September 1995, Message #164
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   From: Robert Andrew Pace 
Subject: The man who turned MG Japanese
   Date: Tue, 5 Sep 1995 10:46:04 -0400

Pulled this from the Brit car list:


Robert Pace
TR-4A (no bloody IRS)
Miata (aka TR-9)
Have fun, drive fast, drive safe, don't get scared. <:o
"Whatsa behind me is nota important"  Gumball Rallye
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The Electronic Telegraph  Tuesday 5 September 1995   Motoring

The man who turned MG Japanese

John Langley reports on the secret obsession of the British engineer
who helped design Mazda's popular MX-5

JOHN SHUTE, the British engineer who played a significant part in the
design of the Mazda MX-5 soft-top sports car, had a secret obsession.
He was a compulsive collector of old MGs, whose role as the world's
favourite open two-seaters was to be usurped by the newcomer from
Japan.

Enthusiasts driving the new MX-5 for the first time were often amazed
that a Japanese company with no background in traditional sports cars
had been able to produce such a convincing British-style two-seater.
The looks, the driving position and details such as the throw of the
gearlever and clutch, the exhaust note, and indeed the whole feel of
the car, were just what traditionalists would have hoped for from an
updated MG.

Part of the reason was the input from Shute's company, International
Automotive Design of Worthing. IAD became Britain's largest independent
engineering, styling and prototype-building consultancy in the early
Nineties, with some 1,400 employees worldwide, and was used discreetly
by many top car makers, including Mazda.

When British Leyland killed the MGB and closed the Abington MG factory,
the Japanese saw their chance to move in. IAD was called in to advise
on design.  The MX-5 went on to sell more than 370,000 in six years,
but it is doubtful it could have hit the target so accurately without
Shute's instinct and knowledge of MGs.

Shute had started in the motor industry as a draughtsman and body
engineer at Vauxhall, after an apprenticeship in coachbuilding and
design with British Rail. He moved to Melbourne to join Chrysler, and
later set up his own design engineering company in Australia. Feeling
the need to get nearer the mainstream motor industry, he returned to
Britain in 1976 and formed IAD with his wife, Yvonne.

His collection of 26 MGs, believed to be the biggest in Europe,
reflected his interest in body design

In the booming Eighties, the business mushroomed, winning three Queen's
Awards for exports and spreading the message about British design
around the world.  But it was hit hard by the subsequent recession and
in 1993 was bought by the Mayflower Group (whose subsidiary Motor
Panels, of Coventry, has since teamed up with Rover for the return of
the MG, in the shape of the new mid-engined MGF two-seater).

Shute died of cancer earlier this year, aged 54. He lived long enough
to see the revival of the MG marque, first with the V8-engined RV8,
then with Mayflower's involvement in the MGF.

His collection of 26 MGs, believed to be the biggest in Europe,
reflected his interest in body design. He concentrated on finding rare
examples with bodywork by outside coachbuilders, such as the matching
pair of 1955 MG TDs, a closed coup and a drophead, by Arnolt of
Chicago. Arnolt, best known for his special-bodied sporting Bristols,
was an American MG dealer who had his bodies built by Bertone in
Italy.

The matching TDs are finished in red, with beige leather interiors, and
have consecutive number plates. Each is expected to fetch more than
20,000 when the Shute collection goes under the hammer at Christie's
sale of unrestored and collectors' cars and motorcycles at the massive
Beaulieu Autojumble next weekend.

Tickford drophead coupes include a pre-war MG VA, MG TA and a
large-engined MG SA. The earliest car in the collection is the 1933
18/80, with six-cylinder 2,468cc engine, expected to realise more than
40,000, while a 1936 supercharged Q-type replica could go for around
23,000. For those who fancy a full-blown restoration project, there is
a 1934 six-cylinder NA Magnette, expected to fetch more than 8,000.

Other stars at the sale include what is said to be the oldest running
Vauxhall in existence, a 1903 Voiturette (20,000 to 25,000), and a fine
1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost open-drive Landaulette by Barker, still
with its original paintwork, interior and fittings after 35 years with
one owner, which is expected to realise more than 150,000.

*  Christie's has expanded its information service by putting selected
catalogues for forthcoming sales on the Internet, including the
catalogue for next Saturday's Beaulieu sale. It can be reached on
http://www.christies.com/ For further details telephone Christie's on
00 44 171 839 9060.