The first all-new MG sports car in nearly 30 years is just around the corner, with the electric Cyberster making its first UK appearance at an event in London.
Along with that come a few more details on the sports car, which was seen for the first time in near-production form at the Shanghai motor show in April.
That event gave us a closer look at the car’s size and performance, and revealed that it has plenty of both. Far from the MGF-sized roadster you’d expect from looking at photos, the 4.5-metre long, 1.9m wide and 1.3m high Cyberster is more like a Porsche 992 in size (actually, it’s a touch larger), while MG also confirmed a kerb weight of upwards of 1850kg – around two original Mazda MX-5s.
Its electric powertrain has the punch to overcome it, even if the roadster is never likely to handle as a truly lightweight model would, with either single or dual-motor models, producing between 309bhp and 536bhp.
Now though we also have a handle on how much the Cyberster is likely to cost, with Auto Express reporting a starting price of “around £50,000”, and Autocar going five grand higher.
Whichever starting price is correct, that figure puts the new MG up against some stiff sports-car competition. £50,545 gets a 254bhp, 2-litre Toyota GR Supra (and £54,630 a 335bhp inline six version with a manual gearbox), while £52,490 is enough for the 1100kg Alpine A110. £51,800 lands you a basic Porsche Cayman, and if a soft-top is a prerequisite, it’s £53,800 for a Boxster. An MX-5, meanwhile, is still in the mid-£25k range.
While combustion power limits how long each can remain on the market given various countries’ electric mandates, you’d really have to have your heart set on the MG to choose it above some of the world’s most storied sports car brands and nameplates.
To the MG’s credit, it’s looking better each time we see images of it, if slightly generic – MG is effectively starting its visual identity from scratch, so it’ll take some time for the car’s various styling cues to scream “MG” at us in the same way an MGB or MGF is so instantly recognisable.
The real key to the car’s appeal though will be how it drives, and with the car set to arrive in the summer of 2024, we’ve got around a year to wait to discover what kind of sports car MG has built.
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I myself WOULD pay £50,000 for this stylish car, in this colour, if I had the money.
It’s a Chinese electric car that is part Austin Powers/Mini (the latter gets away with it) in the tail lights and a nice looking if indistinctive convertible that they decided to stick an MG badge on. Aside from the badge, it’s not really MG in any way. There is no evolution or design language from previous. cars, no soul or appreciation of the heritage other than the name. It’s a bit bland and has some dubious design decisions inside.
I think this one will sink. Will people love it, will it sell? Will it elevate the brand? I doubt it.
Is the name utterly daft?
Yes.
I was disappointed to say the least that MG couldn’t/wouldn’t/hasn’t produced a real (electrified) successor to the MG TF. This is too large v the Mazda MX5, the ‘old enemy’. Still who’d have thought that MG would take the fight to Porsche, BMW at al? Shame that the beautiful e-motion never made the cut…
Electric cars….not for me thank you. I’ll stick with my recently acquired Fiat 124 Spider.
Not an MG at all, in any way shape or form, it just carries the badge. I would never want a Chinese car, and the price is way above me.
Very good points, and enough to sink the attraction.
50 grand no chance, I like most people, I image, would buy the boxter, at 50 grand a different type of customer. Even at 35,000 I would still buy the MX5
MG at a similar car three years ago at 30,000 pounds that looked better and better value unfortunately never produced it pull it on the internet gave it big publicity but never made it what will happen when this gets a new Look but it’s still overpriced being a Chinese electric car
i bet not one of you have driven mg4, its fantastic sticks to the road like glue does what it says i have driven for 18 months cant fault better than my old teslar