MG Cyberster electric roadster revealed

Last year MG treated the world to an outrageous Cyberster prototype which was positioned as a homage to the now almost classic TF, which the original MG manufactured from 1995 all the way to 2011. The original wasn’t the best car to drive in the dry, in the wet it was a widow maker. Being an MG it was an absolute reliability disaster and the butt of a never ending stream of cruel jokes. And yet it had a huge and faithful following.

The Cyberster follows the TF into the 2-door 2-seat roadster design but the two are worlds apart. The first Cyberster prototype we saw last year, had an open cockpit design and as most prototypes, its design was outlandish in order to capture some attention. The company has posted a quick video teaser on its Twitter account showing what the production car is going to look like. Pay attention to the interior - steering wheel is replaced with a yoke, blink and you’ll miss it:

Return of the legend#MGMotors #MGCars #MGCarLaunch #GetMoreWithMG pic.twitter.com/06VUhlcOyi

— MG Motor UK (@MGmotor) August 1, 2022

Immediately we can tell this is the production ready vehicle. The design still is out there, it is a 2-door roadster with a folding roof, not so different from the Mazda MX5 and most likely aimed directly at Mazda’s customers.

Gone are the futuristic headlights of the prototype replaced with more standard yet still good looking LED projectors. The rear lights retained the arrow design which will be unique on the market, that’s for sure.

The design patent photos reveal even more details. We notice the quite short wheelbase which will make the car nimble but it might be a handful in fast corners. The weight transfer at speed during cornering will be mind-blowingly fast and it will keep you focused and sweaty.

Front overhang is huge for an electric car, the company didn’t take advantage of electric drivetrain and didn’t push the wheels out to the corners. Rear overhang isn't the smallest either but the car looks very dynamic nonetheless.

According to MG, the new Cyberster is built on a dedicated EV platform that will offer 497 miles of range. We are more likely to believe the acceleration time of 3 seconds from 0 to 100 kph, the range figure seems overly optimistic.

The EV platform mentioned by the company is the MSP platform from SAIC and that means three possible options for drivetrain. Either 167hp or 201hp rear-wheel drive or a twin-motor AWD setup with 443 hp which would make the 3.0 second claim possible.

The car will go on sale some time next year and the MG is adamant it will be priced competitively. The company wants its sports car to be affordable and potentially even to be able to compete with entry models from other brands. When it does arrive on the market it won’t be called Cyberster, the company has trademarked the MG C EV name and it’s possible it will be used instead.

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