Cyberster is first new MG sports car in 30 years; on sale in 2024 with up to 536bhp
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MG, the famous British sports car marque that has been under Chinese ownership since the collapse of MG Rover in 2005, has taken a giant step towards reconnecting with its century-old roots by staging a London unveiling of the Cyberster, an electric roadster that’s due in showrooms next summer.
Launched as a near-production-ready concept at last month’s Shanghai motor show, it is the first new sports car to bear the iconic octagonal badge since the F of 1995.
MG claims it will be the world’s first “affordable” roadster EV, dramatically undercutting existing electric performance cars with a two-model structure that is likely to begin at around £55,000 for a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive version with 309bhp and stretch to around £65,000 for a dual-motor, four-wheel-drive model with 536bhp.
It was originally planned as a direct replacement for the TF (a developed version of the F), but the need for it to carry a large battery and the consequent requirement for a long wheelbase has made the Cyberster closer in its major dimensions to the 4.4-metre-long BMW Z4 than its 3.96m mid-engined predecessor.
Little about the Cyberster’s mechanical layout has been confirmed ahead of its UK launch at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, but the lighter single-motor model is understood to tip the scales at around 1850kg – 750kg more than the TF – and the second motor is expected to add 135kg.
To be built for the time being only as an open two-seater with a powered folding soft top, the Cyberster has a wide and spacious cabin, helped by the lack of engine in the nose.
The batteries are located within the chassis on the skateboard principle.
Like the exterior design, the interior has its roots in MG’s London studio (although it was further developed in China). The plush fascia and instrumentation take influence from contemporary gaming trends, while scissor doors provide what designers call “a sense of theatre”.
Carl Gotham, leader of MG’s 20-strong Advanced Design group in London, acknowledges the increase in size from the TF to the Cyberster but believes the new car wears it well, “creating a completely new kind of roadster, ready for a new generation of sports car drivers”.
He cited the Cyberster’s main aim as being to lead the design style of future MG models. While MG will continue its concentration on mass-market shapes, this won’t be its only sports car.
MG commercial director Guy Pigounakis said the brand has already been “inundated” by
