Brief history of Ken Costello's work with V8 powered MGs

By the time British Leyland did build their own V8 models, some two years after Costello had begun building his, the global energy crisis was looming so few customers were interested in a 120mph 24mpg sportscar. Ken could proudly boast that his cars could out-sprint Jaguar E-Types up to 100mph, confuse Porsche 911s in a straight line dash and possess a theoretical top speed of 140mph.

The early Costello version had the V8 unit with twin SU carburetors, a bulging fiberglass bonnet and a noticeably different black, aluminum grille. Later versions could be fitted with a standard MG bonnet, a single rearward-facing Weber 40 DCOE carburetor was now used. A bespoke "V8 Costello" badge was fitted to the rear panel; the only clear differentiators that this car was not a standard later factory model.

It is unclear how many cars Ken Costello converted between 1970 and 1974 but he claims about 200 is likely. The first was a Roadster, most following were GTs.

This website celebrates the "conversion" that may or may not have convinced Leyland to build their own V8 model. Either way, today's few remaining proud Costello owners are only too happy to show off their surviving motors, and this site hope to capture as much of this enthusiasm as possible.

Get involved!
If you own a Costello MG today, or have owned one in the past, please do contact Lawrence via the Contacts page and share some anecdotes, pictures, stories, whatever you wish, and with your permission, we may post the best contributions to the site for all fans and owners alike to share and enjoy.

Lawrence Wood (last update August 2008).