SO WHY IS IT AN "F" ?

MGD

There were no MGD's due to the Jaguar D type race car , although it was mooted for a 1950's variant on the midget. MGD was also seen on the rear of a concept drawing for a sports car based on the Austin Maxi - though this was never developed. The car was considered briefly at the end of the 1960's as a possible replacement for the MG Midget and Triumph Spitfire. They were considering a mid-engined vehicle as long ago as this with the advent of the ADO21 project. Strangely though ADO21 took an MGBGT as a starting point and put the mid mounted E4 engine behind a perspex screen moving fuel tank and battery to the front.The E4 engine was quite tall so a styling design was developed to disguise this fact using butresses at the rear. The car was axed in 1970 after it was found there would be no market for a mid engined sports car in the US and that it would prove difficult to get the E4 engine through new stringent US emission regulations. Triumph at the same time were briefed with replacing the MGB and TR6 with a front engined  car  - the Bullet and Lynx projects.  By the mid 70's Triumph had produced the TR7 and with it's convertible option there was no longer any place for continued production of the aging MGB sounding the death knell of MG sports cars in 1980. Pardoxically the TR7 was also axed in 1981 due to restructuring at British Leyland. 

Concept drawing for MG DGT

The Lynx Concept car - a four seat coupe which was ditched in favour of the two seat option - the TR7

MG EXE concept car - it also came in silver

MGE

This was never used either -  although there was an idea to use it to name a possible four seater version of the MGA. 

The letter E was used , however, on the EX-E supercar in 1985 which , if it had reached production may have become the MG-E.

MGF 

The EX-E although never beyond a concept car did provide some much needed inspiration at Austin Rover ahead of the launch of the Rover 800 large saloon in 1986. There was already pressure from the motoring press and others for a new MG sports car. Work subsequently began on a smaller version  - Gerry Mcgovern and Richard Carter continued inspiration from the EX-E in to a much smaller front engined car - the F-16 - inspired by the aircraft of the same name - also linking to words like Fast, Fun, Ferrari etc and the 16 valve nature of the engine. Once again ructions within management at Austin Rover resulted in cash being diverted to the Land Rover for development of the Discovery - sports cars were again seen as flippant and in 1986 the project was cancelled..

It was therefore sensible to retain the MGF for a new production sports car - it wasn't quite the next letter in the alphabet but can you imagine a sports car called the MG-G !!! It could also be argued that the F-16 was an ancestor and it could be legitimate to use that letter - The letter F also invites several buzz words - Fun, Fast, Ferrari -  The advertising also suggest the latter with the catchphrase - "outrageous fun for all".