The MGB is a sports car launched by MG Cars in May 1962 to replace the MGA

MG MGA

The MGA is a sports car produced by MG division of the British Motor Corporation from 1955 to 1962.The MGA replaced the older T-type cars and represented a complete styling break from the older vehicles. The car was officially launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1955...

. Introduced as a four-cylinder roadster

Roadster

A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...

, a coupé

Coupé

A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...

 with 2+2 seating was added in 1965. The six-cylinder MGC debuted in 1967; a later derivative fitted with the Buick

Buick

Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...

-based Rover V8 was made from 1973 to 1976.

MGB/MGC production continued until October 1980 variously by the British Motor Corporation

British Motor Corporation

The British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...

 and its successors, British Motor Holdings

British Motor Holdings

British Motor Holdings Limited was a British motor company known until 14 December 1966 as British Motor Corporation Limited .-History:...

 and British Leyland Motor Corporation

British Leyland Motor Corporation

British Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd in 1978...

.
The MGB was a relatively modern design at the time of its introduction, utilizing a monocoque

Monocoque

Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...

 structure instead of the traditional body-on-frame

Body-on-frame

Body-on-frame is an automobile construction method. Mounting a separate body to a rigid frame that supports the drivetrain was the original method of building automobiles, and its use continues to this day. The original frames were made of wood , but steel ladder frames became common in the 1930s...

 construction used on both the MGA and MG T-types and the MGB's rival, the Triumph TR series.