The MG Cyberster has been leaked, giving us a look at the Chinese-owned brand’s return to sports cars – albeit with an electric twist.
Images of the electric sportster from a European Patent Office filing have been published online, revealing a sleek sports car sharing many of its design cues with the Cyberster concept of the 2021 Shanghai motor show.
The proportions are quite different, with the production vehicle wearing longer front overhangs than the concept which had its wheels pushed dramatically to the corners.
The side detailing remains similar, however, with curvaceous haunches, an accent line that arcs from the front fender into the door, and a sharp horizontal crease that passes through a fender vent.
Move around to the front and the headlights have been opened up and the bonnet isn’t quite as slippery, while the gaping grille area has made way for a smaller opening.
Finally, down back the full-width lighting element remains, as do the quirky arrow-shaped tail lights. Together, these emulate the Union Jack, though in a more dramatic fashion to the similarly Rule Britannia-themed tail lights used by Mini.
There’s still a racy rear diffuser, though the Cyberster’s derriere is rather less bluff than that of the concept.
The Cyberster concept was presented topless, though a roof is very much present on the production version.
No interior images have been revealed.
Autocar earlier this year reported the production model would be launched in 2024 to celebrate the centenary of the MG name.
Given MG’s ancestral homeland is the UK, the company confirmed at the concept’s reveal it would be built in right-hand drive.
Technical specifications have yet to be revealed, though the concept had a claimed 0-100km/h time of 3.0 seconds and 800km of range.
Expect the production version’s figures to be a little less superlative.
It’ll enter a segment that, with the Tesla Roadster dormant for now, has essentially no competition.
Given MG’s positioning as a more value-focused brand, the production Cyberster is likely to undercut upcoming electric sports cars like the Lotus Type 135, due in 2026, and the Alpine A110 replacement that’ll share its platform.
Porsche is also preparing an electric replacement to its 718 Boxster and Cayman, due around 2024 or 2025.
Though it’ll feature an entirely different type of propulsion, the Cyberster represents a return to MG’s heritage as a manufacturer of compact sports cars.
While MG has always offered a range of sedans and/or hatchbacks, dating back to its founding in the UK in 1924, the demise of the TF droptop in 2011 has led to one of its longest spells yet without a sports car.
Only the gap between the MGB’s discontinuation in 1980 and its return as the RV8 in 1992 was longer.
Another MG revealed in patent images, but which has yet to be confirmed for production, is the E-Motion.
First previewed in concept form at the 2017 Shanghai motor show, a restyled version appeared in a patent filing in 2020 with a decidedly more Aston Martin-like visage.
When MG revealed the E-Motion concept, it said it used a dual-motor battery-electric powertrain, capable of propelling the coupe to 100km/h in around four seconds. Electric range was a claimed 500km.
There’s been radio silence from MG on this model, and reports from the UK that it would launch in 2021 proved inaccurate.
