Did you know that Old Speckled Hen is in fact named after an MG car?
The name chosen was “Old Speckled Hen”, which took its name from an unusual car which the story goes was built as an experimental model in 1927. This car was called the “MG Featherlight Saloon” which featured cellulosed fabric stretched over a wooden frame, and was finished in black speckled with gold.
It became the factory’s general runabout, and as it chugged around, people would say in their Oxfordshire tones: “There gus the owd speck’ld un….”