Lot 616: 1968 MGC GT Downton Coupé

This MGC GT benefits from tuning by Downton Engineering, at one time Britain’s foremost specialists in high-performance conversions for BMC products and a company with a competition record second to none. Daniel and Bunty Richmond set up their eponymous firm in the Wiltshire village of Downton in 1947, specialising in maintaining upmarket makes before turning to the tuning of more humble fare in the late 1950s. Business really took off in 1961 after Daniel Richmond tuned one of the newly introduced Mini Coopers. Its engine capacity increased from 997 to 1,088cc, this car - ‘860 MW’ - was tested at over 100mph by both Autocar and Autosport magazines, a staggering achievement at the time and one that earned Daniel Richmond a technical consultancy contract with BMC. Downton supplied cylinder heads to BMC’s Competitions Department at Abingdon for the works rally cars and also to John Cooper for his circuit racing Minis, and played a major role in developing the Cooper S. The latter’s cylinder head was a Downton creation, and the firm went on to design the standard ’heads for several other BMC A-Series-engined models, including the MG 1100 and Austin 1800 ‘Landcrab’. On the tuning side, Dowton were renowned for practical conversions that placed an emphasis on torque and flexibility, unlike many of their rivals that pursued ultimate power, and Downton’s tune for the MGC was recognised as going some way towards releasing the true potential of this popular sports car. This Downton-tuned MGC GT is finished in primrose yellow with black Everflex finish above the waistline and to the rear hatch, and is equipped with wider-than-standard wire wheels and Webasto sunroof. Regrettably no documents have yet been located.