The collector car market, in your inbox
Classic car news, hand-picked vehicles, and auction coverage. Choose what lands in your inbox.
A vivid orange 1972 MG Midget is currently bidding at just $1,600 with no reserve on Hagerty Marketplace, and with the auction closing Monday, August 3, it's shaping up to be one of the most affordable ways into classic British roadster ownership on the market this week. Photos and listing details for the car, nicknamed "Tangy" by its Louisville, Kentucky seller, come courtesy of Hagerty Marketplace.
Finished in factory orange over black vinyl, this Midget rides on painted wire wheels and is powered by the model's familiar 1,275cc A-Series inline-four, mated to a four-speed manual gearbox and fed by a pair of SU carburetors. The seller, who goes by Tangy72, says she bought the car as a gift to herself for her 50th birthday after a lifelong soft spot for MGs that started in high school. As she put it in the listing, "my dream came true" – even if the scarf-in-the-wind fantasy she once imagined never quite materialized.
This is a genuine driver's car rather than a concours restoration. Mechanically, it received a round of attention in July 2026 at a Louisville import shop, including new engine seals, motor mounts, a general tune-up, and gasket work, on top of an alternator replacement in 2025. It isn't perfect: the seller discloses a reverse gear that's difficult to select, a transmission fluid leak found during the recent service, some visible body corrosion, and an aftermarket head unit that no longer functions along with inoperative door and trunk locks. A tonneau cover, a convertible top boot, spare parts, and a Haynes manual round out the sale, along with a clean Kentucky title.
For buyers wondering whether $1,600 is a steal or a trap, Hagerty Valuation Tools offer useful context. The tool prices a #3-condition ("Good") 1972 MG Midget Mk III at roughly $7,000, and its sales data shows 42 examples of the model crossing public auction blocks over the last three years, ranging from a low of $3,617 up to a high of $27,500 for an exceptional example. The Mk III, built from 1967 through 1974, was the most popular Midget bodystyle with over 100,000 produced, sharing its 1,275cc engine architecture with a detuned version of the Mini Cooper S unit. That popularity and mechanical simplicity keep parts and expertise easy to find, which helps explain why even needier examples like this one tend to find willing buyers.
Small, honest, no-reserve listings like this one have become a recurring theme on Hagerty Marketplace. It follows the same spirit as a recent former Nevada Highway Patrol 1995 Chevrolet Camaro B4C that surfaced with its livery intact, and a 26-year owner's supercharged 1996 Acura NSX-T that traded hands with NSX-R gearing installed. Elsewhere on Motorious, a rare AC-engined 1958 AC Aceca leaned on the same kind of Hagerty valuation data buyers can use here, while a one-off 1951 Cadillac Parade convertible built for Princess Elizabeth's 1951 Canadian tour is proof of just how wide the price spread on Hagerty Marketplace can be.
Bidding on this 1972 MG Midget remains active through Monday, August 3 at 2:20 p.m. EDT, with seven bids logged so far. For a car that mostly needs a fixed reverse gear, a sorted transmission leak, and a little patience with the wiring, it's shaping up to be one of the more entertaining ways to spend a summer weekend without spending much money at all.
