The spectacular PreWar history of MG K3020: Brooklands, the Mille Miglia and beyond...

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Some cars have a competition history. MG K3 Magnette K3020 had an entire racing career.

As one of the three factory team cars prepared by MG for the 1934 season under the direction of Captain George Eyston, chassis K3020 stood on the front line of international motorsport from the very beginning. Registered as JB 4184, the car left the Abingdon factory to be driven by some of the greatest names in pre-war racing.

Its debut came on 28 April 1934 in the International Trophy at Brooklands. Behind the wheel was Clifton Penn-Hughes, who had finished eleventh overall in the Mille Miglia only a few weeks earlier. While Whitney Straight won the race in his Maserati, the MG K3s dominated the smaller-capacity classes. Penn-Hughes guided K3020 to thirteenth overall and fifth in class.

A month later, the factory team travelled to the Isle of Man for the prestigious Mannin Beg on the Douglas street circuit. There, K3020 was entrusted to Charlie Dodson. The former motorcycle racer drove the MG to an impressive second place overall, behind fellow MG driver Norman Black. Eyston himself finished third. It was a remarkable demonstration of MG supremacy, with six K3s occupying six of the first seven positions.

In June, K3020 returned to Brooklands for the British Empire Trophy. Penn-Hughes endured a difficult race this time and was classified tenth and last among the finishers. The season reached another high point in September during the BRDC 500 Miles Race. With Bill Everitt and Tommy Wisdom sharing driving duties, K3020 finished fourth overall and second in class, an outstanding result on the fast Brooklands circuit.

Later that same month, the MG lined up for the Masaryk Junior Grand Prix in Brno, Czechoslovakia. The event was held during the same weekend as the Grand Prix featuring factory teams from Alfa Romeo, Auto Union, Bugatti, Maserati and Mercedes-Benz. Driving K3020 was a young Briton who would later become famous as a Mercedes-Benz driver: Richard Seaman. He brought the MG home in a creditable fifth place.

Seaman also drove K3020 in its final race of 1934. During the East London Border 100 in South Africa, he was troubled by fuel-pressure issues and multiple pit stops, yet still managed to finish fifth.

In 1935, K3020 returned to the Mille Miglia. Driven by Carlo Gazzabini and “Mac Bunty” – believed to have been a pseudonym for Lelio Pellegrini – the MG initially led the highly competitive 1,100 cc class. At the Rome control point, nearly 640 kilometres after the start, the car had recorded an average speed of more than 104 km/h. Mechanical problems between Rome and Terni, however, brought the promising run to an end.

In 1936, K3020 was sold to Flight Lieutenant L.R. Briggs of Belfast. Even in private hands, the car remained an active competitor in events such as the Cork Grand Prix, Mannin Beg, Limerick Grand Prix and the County Down Trophy, where it finished second overall.

K3020 is therefore far more than just another MG. And that is reflected in its value. The 1934 MG K3 Magnette – K3020 is being offered by RM Sotheby’s at its Woodcote Park sale on 8 July with an estimate of £450,000–£650,000. Few pre-war sports cars can boast a résumé that includes Brooklands, Brno and the Mille Miglia. Fewer still were driven by racers such as Clifton Penn-Hughes, Charlie Dodson and Richard Seaman. And how do you put a price on that?

Text: Laurens Klein, photo: RM Sotheby’s

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