In 1962, the MGA was coming to the end of its 7 year production run. For MG it was a very successful model, with, in all, 101,081 MGAs made, of which not quite one tenth of the production was coupes. The MGA also saw several changes over its production run, upgrading engines from 1489cc to 1588cc to 1622cc, with the Twin Cam variant of the 1588cc thrown in for good measure. The final variant, with the 1622cc engine was badged as a Mark 2, featuring a different front grille, improved final drive ratio of 4.1:1 and different tail lamps. The coupe, which featured lines similar to the Jaguar XK120 Fixed Head coupe, with a similar shape to the roof, had a somewhat upgraded interior to the roadster, roll up windows, lockable doors, and better aerodynamics than the roadster, theoretically allowing the coupe to reach a higher top speed. In addition, the added stiffness of the roof improved handling somewhat. On the downside, however, when new, all these added appointments as well as the additional materials lead the coupe to be priced a few hundred dollars more than its open topped sibling. Now, despite the comparable rarity of the coupe over the roadster, that trend has reversed, with the coupe often being seen as the less desireable option. My MGA Coupe is one of the last MGA coupes built, being a 1962 production date with only 26 built for the US market that year. It is actually the first MGA coupe I remember seeing, but the second one I purchased. After falling in love with this car before I bought it, I went looking for a similar one and found a 1961 Mark 2 example on the east coast in the same black over red colour scheme and purchased that car, sight unseen from a dealer. When the car arrived, however, I was less happy with its condition as it had more flaws and problems than I had been lead to believe as well as some functional, but less original repairs. I had started a rolling restoration of that car, rebuilding the leaking brakes immediately, as well as sorting a range of mechanical and electrical issues, doing all the work myself, but not yet tackling some of the bigger projects, when I heard from the owner of this car that he was planning to sell it. As he was getting older it was a hard car for him to get in and drive regularly so he had decided it was time to downsize and let it go. Rather than put significantly more investment in the one I had first purchased, I opted to buy this one as a much better starting point. As I had already invested in things like a complete new interior for the first car, I opted to install it in this one instead, along with a new wiring harness, and some of the other parts I had purchased for the first car, refreshing many other components along the way. The MGA coupe is a decent car to drive, with the biggest downside being the somewhat claustrophobicly small interior, which heats up quickly in the sun making it a less than ideal car to drive in the summer. Still, the car handles well with reasonable performance and as it is a Mark 2, it has the most power, best brakes, and best gear ratios of all the MGAs, aside from the Twin Cam or Twin Cam based deluxe models, making the car very usable as a touring car. Visibility though the front and 3 piece rear windscreen is very good for an enclosed car and many of the details of the coupe, such as the incredibly elegant vertical door handles, make it one of the prettiest British coupes of the 1950s.