Whatever your thoughts on the styling, name or powertrain, isn’t it refreshing to read about a new car that isn’t a crossover? The MG badge means you’ll more likely than not have your opinions on the Cyberster, which has been revealed following a leak by the Chinese government.
As expected – and indeed, previewed last year – the MG Cyberster is an all-electric sports car with two seats and a retractable roof, and has just been officially unveiled at the Shanghai auto show.
While we might associate MG with small and nimble sports cars of the past, the Cyberster is significantly larger than that. At 4535mm long, 1913mm wide and 1329mm high, the MG is longer, wider and taller than the current Mazda MX-5 – in fact, it’s more like a Porsche 992, which is still shorter, narrower and lower than the MG.
At 1850kg to 1985kg, depending on the specification, is the equivalent of a Citroën AX GT heavier than a Mazda MX-5, give or take a bag or two of sugar. That too eclipses the 911, the heaviest of which is around 1700kg. It is, to use the modern vernacular, a bit of a chonker, and the culprit is, as usual, that electric powertrain.
The Cyberster will be available in both single- and dual-motor guises, with outputs ranging from 309bhp to 536bhp. The top speed is 200km/h (124mph), while the zero to 62mph time is likely to be very quick. Range, like other MG models, should be pretty decent, though full battery details haven’t yet been confirmed.
When the Cyberster arrives in 2024, it’ll be the company’s first new two-seater sports car since the MG F (driven here) and later TF. The British-built TF re-emerged in 2008 as the LE500, with a new nose, interior tweaks, new suspension and brakes, and a 1796cc engine configured for Euro 4 emissions standards.
While the car will likely be built in China, it’s been designed in London, at the brand’s studio in Marylebone, in London. Advanced Design Director, Carl Gotham, said the company’s intention was to “create a design that was respectful of the brand’s illustrious past and to bring back that sporting bloodline”, hinting at the disappearance of a proper MG sports car with the LE500 more than a decade ago. At the same time, the shape is “modern and forward-facing like the MG of today, completely in-tune with the rapid transition to electric vehicles.”
In an earlier teaser video, the Cyberster appeared with scissor doors, a Tesla-style yoke steering wheel and an electrically operated folding roof. The doors and electric folding roof are present and correct on the car in Shanghai, but while no full interior views have been shown, it looks like the steering wheel is at least conventional for now.
While the weight and size are something of a disappointment – making it more of a serious sports car than a spiritual successor to the MGF – MG’s recent products have been competitive, well-priced, and even good fun. If MG can replicate those brand characteristics in a sports car, we might be in for a treat – something we’ll discover when it arrives in the UK in summer 2024.
Read more
New MG concept is a “Cyber” attack on Tesla (Update)
After more than a decade’s wait, a new MG sports car is coming
Convert a classic to electric? It’s assault and battery
Sorry, Chinese designed and built cars can never be MG’s The name should have been decently laid to rest with the demise of MG Rover in 2005.
Do we really want a car built by the Communists – well I do not!
More than half is all Teslas are made in China, as are all Polestar’s. Does that make Elon a Communist too?
It doesn’t matter where it’s made as long as it looks good and works correctly.
It looks gorgeous, but far too much weight. We need to stop this obsession with range and start designing for the intended purpose.
It’s a sportscar, it’s for driving around country roads, possibly stopping for a pub lunch, not a long range tourer.
Make is smaller and lighter at the expense of range.
Clearly says designed in UK stop saying it desinged by China, most cars are full of Chinese parts, this is what people thought about japanese cars in the 80s /90s and Korean cars in the 2000s… At the moment mg is wiping the floor with the big companies with price and eV models…
You have to embrace ,the fact that this is the way it’s going ,doesn’t matter what manufacturers you talk about they all have parts from China.
To be honest as long as the MG name is still here it’s a good thing I would certainly have one
Bloody Stunning… if it drives as good as my F Type… I’ll buy one! In that colour.