MG sports car is back!

Without question the biggest story this month has to be the news that the production version of the MG Cyberster concept has moved a step closer to reality, with the appearance of some ‘patent registration’ images on the internet in May. The story of the Cyberster has been well covered in past issues, in particular its debut at the Shanghai International Motor Show in April 2021. At the launch, SAIC revealed that would-be owners of the new sports car could register their interest in the form of ‘crowd funding’, a process where anyone placing a deposit would secure the rights to both a place in the queue and an opportunity to influence the car's final design.

Obviously a road-going version of the Cyberster was always going to undergo changes to make the version that a customer could actually purchase and enjoy more realistic and user-friendly. Thus, for example, features like the pure ‘spider’ roadster windscreen and cockpit layout had to be toned down in favour of a conventional roadster windscreen and folding fabric soft-top. Likewise the novel ‘magic eye’ headlamps were impractical for production, and so the road car will have more conventional lamps. Some of the exterior proportions and protrusions had to be toned down as well, and the interior – yet to be revealed – will also be less exotic, with a regular steering wheel and cockpit layout.

There remain some questions to be resolved – such as the precise launch date and specification (it seems likely to be all-electric, and presumably rear-wheel- drive like the new MG4/ Mulan, described below) and of course the name and associated marketing strategy. In April, SAIC registered the ‘MGC EV’ name on the UK Intellectual Property Register, and whilst there has understandably been little comment from MG Motor so far, the possibility of a new era MGC seems to present itself as one option. SAIC has also taken the trouble to register the ‘MG Cyber’ sub-brand, and so it may well be that the new roadster emerges in due course as the ‘MG Cyber MGC EV’ – but we shall have to wait until closer to the anticipated launch in 2024, the hundredth anniversary of the registration of the MG badge even if not actually the centenary of its first use.

Patent office CGIs revealed new MG's shape