it was first presented in 1985 by j.c. sports cars in sheffield, england run by john cowperthwaite and founded after his earlier company called moss had its factory destroyed in a fire in 1985. later marketing and development of the midge was taken over by t&j of rotherham and they continued into the mid 1990s. it was then taken over by white rose vehicles in gillingham, kent. wrv also constructed their own chassis that took ford escort (with ford cortina or ford taunus (1976–1982) front suspension) parts instead using a triumph chassis. when white rose vehicles ceased trading some club members raised the money to buy the rights to market the car. as it is plan-based the midge has also been built using various donors including the citroën 2cv.