At least the MG Cyberster EV Roadster is due to be unveiled in 2023. April of 2023 to be more precise. MG is on track to unveil its ‘Project E’ two-seat electric roadster in April next year ahead of its first UK deliveries in the first half of 2024, an MG Motor UK spokesperson has said.
The production car “will be a game-changer in terms of perception of the brand,” MG UK commercial director Guy Pigounakis told Autocar at a recent event. The car will be available in either two-wheel drive – most likely rear-wheel drive – or as a “very high-performance” all-wheel-drive dual-motor version.
The car will become a halo model sitting above the rest of MG’s line-up. UK executives had to rethink its positioning when the first full-scale prototype of the production car arrived from China in advance of the reveal originally planned for this month. “Right up to when the model was arriving we were looking at it as a natural successor to the MGF. It’s completely not. It’s in a completely different sector of the market,” said Pigounakis, without revealing pricing.
The sports car, first previewed by the 2021 MG Cyberster concept and known internally as ‘Project E’, was due to be unveiled this month at the Guangzhou motor show but has been put back to next year after concerns the November event would be postponed or canceled due to Covid disruption.
The car was teased in a video posted to social media in August that showed off the roadster’s sleek, long-nosed silhouette, electric folding canvas roof, yoke steering wheel, two-tone sports seats, and distinctive LED headlights. Other definitive design cues visible at this early stage include a subtle ‘ducktail’ rear spoiler and a rear lighting design modeled on the Union Jack – a nod to MG’s British roots.
Tellingly, MG captioned the video ‘return of the legend’, which strongly suggests the final production car will resurrect a sporting nameplate from the brand’s illustrious past. Earlier this year, the brand trademarked the name ‘MG C EV’, which references the MGC which was a lesser-known, straight-six-powered version of the brand-defining MGB from the late 1960s. The two-seat electric sports car was previewed as an outlandish concept in 2021, which company bosses said was given the green light for production after receiving more than 5000 expressions of interest from potential buyers.
While the production car’s silhouette bears a visual relation to that earlier concept, it’s all changed elsewhere, with a total redesign bringing the car into line with MG’s production models and rendering it compliant with global homologation rules. It sits higher than before, for example; the wheels are smaller and wrapped in chunkier tires; the headlights are now uncovered; and the gaping front grille panel has been swapped for what looks to be a subtler, decorative item, perhaps housing an array of sensors.
And, of course, there is no word at all about the MG Cyberster coming to the North American market. Or for that matter any cars of the MG range. We in the USA must wait, wish, and take driving vacations overseas.
Note: The majority of the contents of this article are courtesy of MG Owners Club.
Made in CHINA. How is it British ?