Gordon Diffey's 300,000-mile Magenta is still going strong

Author & Photography: Antony Ingram

One of the most eye-catching cars at the recent NEC Classic Motor Show was this Magenta. Packed with presence despite its diminutive size, there was even more to this little kit car than meets the eye, as we discovered after a chat with the owner, Gordon Diffey.

The large chrome grille has probably already given away the Magenta’s donor vehicle. Underneath the squat, roadster-like body is an MG 1100, which donates not just that distinctive MG grille but also the front and rear subframes and suspension, ancillaries, and of course the A-Series engine and gearbox, tightly packaged behind the car’s prominent snout.

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The Magenta was offered by Lightspeed Panels between 1972 and 1986 – a pretty good run for a kit car. This car was built during the middle of that run, as Diffey takes up the story.

“It’s a 1964 MG 1100 which my dad had, and he gave to me in 1975. I went along to the Earl’s Court motor show in 1979 and saw the Magenta kit car, and the example which took part in the London to Sydney rally in 1977. I bought a kit right away and it was on the road by 1980.”

Diffey wasted no time getting to grips with his new car. “The first drive I took was round to a girl that I’d met. I invited her out for the evening. She was my first passenger, and she’s been my wife for the last 45 years.” The Magenta quickly became the family car, with their three kids piling into the small rear bench. While they’ve long since outgrown that space, the car still gets regular use.

In fact, it remains Diffey’s daily driver, and the car has covered a remarkable 300,000 miles – surely one of the highest-mileage cars at the show, likely one of the highest of any MG 1100, and almost certainly the highest of the remaining 200-or-so Magentas recognised by the club register. That’s a good survival rate too, as the company sold around 650 kits in total.

Like the London to Sydney car, Diffey’s Magenta wears the optional fibreglass hardtop, which he acquired by buying another Magenta (now passed on to a friend) for its top. The quality is impressive, given the mixed standards of many kit cars, though Diffey himself gets a lot of credit for tweaking the car to his taste over the years, retrimming it for a better finish and carefully adjusting everything to fit correctly.

Access to the car is via gull-wing doors (which also fit very well) – another feature that sets the Magenta apart from its contemporaries. The cabin looks wonderfully cosy with the top in place, and has been soundproofed; it’s no wonder Diffey happily drives it all year round.

As you’d expect from an MG 1100 with no overhangs and a rigid fibreglass body, it’s also apparently fantastic to drive. A modified engine helps – the car is running a 1275cc A-Series, subsequently bored out to 1322cc, and is making around 105bhp.

Combined with a kerb weight of only 400kg it’s a bit of a flier, and will more than happily sit at 70mph on a motorway trip. Diffey says it feels very stable at speed, the light back end more likely to break free than the grippy front, though a brake compensator helps balance the brakes for the front-heavy weight distribution.

The extra performance and regular use certainly hasn’t taken its toll on the car, as Diffey explains. “A couple of years ago I decided it was time for a rebuild, so I took the body off the chassis. When I’d built the car I’d put three coats of Hammerite on the chassis, and I found just one patch, where the body had been rubbing on the chassis, which had spots of rust. The rest of it, including the subframes, was absolutely spotless.”

Don’t think the Magenta was wrapped up in a warm garage for its 45 years either – it’s been living outside all that time, though it does now sit under a car port to avoid direct exposure to inclement weather. It’s a testament to both Lightspeed Panels, and the car’s owner, that the Magenta is still going strong after all this time.