Rally hero Rauno Aaltonen drove far more than most probably give him credit for.
One of the original Flying Finns, he won each of the major rally events before the World Rally Championship took over including the RAC, the Monte and the 1000 Lakes.
But he was also a strong circuit racer, entering Le Mans and later winning the Bathurst 500 in a Mini Cooper S.
Between those two, in 1965 he and fellow Flying Finn Timo Mäkinen were dispatched to America with a pair of lightened MG Midgets to tackle the Bridgehampton Double 500 in a bid to dethrone Abarth from the lower classes of the World Sports Car Championship.
Aaltonen’s Midget was ‘6 GRX’, and the very car he brought home sixth and first in class will feature in the MG centenary display as part of Birthday Brits, courtesy of longtime Scramble supporter Classic Motor Hub.
Much of the body was stripped and replaced with aluminium by Abingdon works, and the usual 948cc A Series was removed in favour of a 1293cc. It even gained a limited-slip differential.
Following its Long Island race outing it remained in America until the millennium, when it returned to the UK and was restored with input by former employees of the works division. It was returned to its British Racing Green colours, and Nick Swift fettled the engine.
You’ll find 6 GRX on display by BUilding 123 as part of Birthday Brits at the Scramble on Sunday 8 October.