AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson has paid a visit to MG’s Birmingham headquarters to film scenes for an episode of his television show which focuses on some the most famous automotive marques in history.
The singer and self-confessed car fanatic made his television presenting debut with Quest TV’s Cars That Rock and the success of the show has seen him return for a second series.
In the inaugural series made by back2back productions the Newcastle-born singer visited the Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche and Rolls Royce factories.
The latest series sees him explore a host of famed British brands, including Jaguar, Land Rover, MG and McLaren.
This Thursday’s episode of the show is all about MG and sees Brian take a look behind the scenes at the Longbridge site.
Following the demise of MG Rover ten years ago MG is now enjoying a new lease of life under its Chinese owners SAIC.
Birmingham is now the home of a design and engineering centre employing hundreds of people and both MG3 and MG6 vehicles are assembled at the Birmingham site.
The brand’s heritage stretches back more than 90 years and MG vehicles from the ensuing decades have a large and loyal fanbase across the globe.
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Brian’s visit to the MG factory sees him take a look at the brand’s roots with a ride in MG’s very first race car.
He also catches a glimpse of how the marque has been revised and reinvented for the 21st century.
As well as getting an insight into the history and future of the marque, he also gets the chance to take an MG3 for an ‘ultimate test drive’ and races in one of the fastest MGs ever made - resulting in a close shave with a concrete wall.
In addition Brian interviews owners of classic MGs, including one in the West Country who owns a vehicle known as The Old Speckled Hen, so-called because it was covered in leather.
Outside of fronting one of the world’s biggest rock bands Brian Johnson is a professed petrol head who regularly competes in vintage car races all over the globe, including Daytona.
The singer has revealed that as a child growing up in the North East he had ambitions to be a racing driver.
He said: “When I saw Sterling Moss and Graham Hill on TV, these wonderful knights of the road, I thought they just looked fabulously heroic and I wanted to be them.
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“But I lived in Dunston, just outside Newcastle, and daddy didn’t have a load of money to throw at my racing career so that wasn’t going to happen.”
As an apprentice Brian saved to buy his first car - a second-hand Mini - but it was only later in his career that he was able to fully indulge his passion for cars.
The former singer of the rock band Geordie was earning a living fitting vinyl roofs to cars when he was approached by AC/DC to join them following the death of Bon Scott.
He celebrated his good fortune by going out and buying a brand new Jaguar.
“I never thought the day would come that I would buy a brand-new Jaguar,” he said.
When Brian published his memoirs in 2010 the focus was more on the cars in his life than his musical career.
He now has 12 road cars including a Bentley, a Ferrari, and a Rolls Royce, plus five racing cars that he takes to competitions around the world.
* Cars That Rock is being shown on Quest TV (Freeview channel 37, Sky channel 167 and Virgin Media channel 172) every Thursday at 9pm.