News : MG6 sneaks into the Olympics!

Perhaps the best piece of opportunism MG Motor UK has come up with to date – the company is gatecrashing BMW’s party by supplying some of the Olympic athletes with new ‘6s…

MG6 will be on hand at for some of 2012's Olympic Athletes
MG6 will be on hand at for some of 2012’s Olympic Athletes

MG has supplied a fleet of cars to the Jamaican and USA Track and Field Training Camps where some of the world’s top athletes, including sprint stars Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay, are training.  Both camps are in Birmingham with the Jamaicans based at the University of Birmingham’s Munrow Sports Centre and the Americans at the city’s Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr.

MG6s have been loaned to the camps to help the athletes get around during their stay. The cars are emblazoned with the Jamaican and USA national flags. It’s hoped some of the athletes may get the opportunity to visit MG Motor UK’s Longbridge site to see where the MG6 cars are designed and engineered, and where final assembly also takes place.

Birmingham has gone athletics crazy with more than 300 sports fans volunteering to help out at the track and field camps. Local schools have been given invitations to watch the athletes train. Both the Americans and Jamaicans will attend a special service at St Philip’s Cathedral on 21 July and there will be a civic reception at the Council House on 22 July.

The Jamaicans will stage a special training event at the Munrow Sports Centre which is expected to attract 700 Press and other by-invitation only VIP guests. They will enjoy a splendid welcome dinner at the University of Birmingham and will be guests of honour at a Jamaican 50th anniversary concert at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall on 25 July.

Gary Egan, MG’s Senior Operations Manager, said: ‘We are very proud to support both the Jamaican and American training camps. The MG6 cars will swallow all their kit bags with ease and the cars will help them get around Birmingham in comfort and style.’

Keith Adams

15 Comments

  1. I may not be a fan of the MG6 but I am pleased to see it is getting in oh the Olympics bandwagon given some form of its final assembly takes palce at Longbridge.

    I really wished we had seen this car as one of the official Olympic cars alongside the Cowley built MINI and even some Jaguars and Land Rovers, rather than foreign built BMWs. With BMW having done a sneaky one getting its own cars in on the Olympics publicity rather than just MINI, I am sure there must be quite a few observers from other countries asking why are there only a few British assembled cars wearing a British-inspired brand being used for this high profile event?

  2. Well someone at Longbrige in the PR dept has done something right for once. They must have banged their heads. Ze Germans vont be happy vith ziss. The trouble is though, it’s a Chinese company, no matter which way you look at it. Paul with comment 3 has it bang on the nose though. The car isn’t British at all really.

  3. A good piece of publicity, opportunism, yes. Why generally, though, is everything so low key, the 6 being kept so quiet? Even at the POL the MG UK stand was a bit pathetic.

    Or is it all part of an intended slow start?

  4. Slow start? I think MG know the car is lacklustre, that is why they aren’t pushing, either that, or they don’t give a toss about the UK market. I’ve not seen any 12 plate examples on the road yet that aren’t demos. Seen a couple of 11 platers though, and funnily enough, both were blue.

  5. Oh well just show you can’t please everybody all the time. Some people will snipe whatever MG Motor do.

  6. Kev Sharp – July 17, 2012

    I’m currently stagging on at the Olympic games venue nr St James’s Park. Ive seen about 5 MG6′s driving about, mainly with SMG dealer markings on but have to admit they look pretty good, if they are setting up a military and diplomatic Tax Free sales department I’d be genuinly interested

  7. @Mikey C:

    “…it’s an international world, hence the official cars in the Tour de France are Skodas!”

    I am afraid you are right on this, although i am surprised that the PSA Group did not provide the vehicles for this, particularly given that Peugeot makes bicycles as well.

    Sadly the Olympics theme really does show how British brands (regardless of ownership) are in the minority in comparison to foreign brands. How much of the official Olympics merchandise is made in this country and supporting British manufacturing interests? I hear that even the medals are not made in this country.

    The Olympics would have been an ideal opportunity to promote British brands and manufacturing interests. Sadly it wasn’t to be.

  8. Why would a foreign athlete give a fig about where a car was “made”?

    Why aren’t they supporting the Britsh team? Cool Runnings, anyone?

  9. I was watching TV news in NZL last night, some action shots of olympic training, in the background was a brown MG 6. so they might get seen by the world ..alex

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