7:34 am, May 20, 2023
MG has come good on a promise that I thought it would never stick to. It has built a sports car and it’ll be arriving here next year.
Before we chew over the finer details of the new Cyberster pure-electric two-seater, just let this sink in: MG is on the cusp of beating the likes of Porsche and Alpine on creating the first proper follow-up to the Tesla Roadster that launched more than 10 years ago.
It’s all coming at the right time, just as if it had been planned this way.
There is much debate on exactly when Cecil Kimber founded ‘Morris Garages’ – was it 1923? Or was it 1924?
No-one really knows for definite and the internet is awash with threads from angry MG car clubs and owners all disagreeing with each other.
MG Motor has decided to cover all bases, for there will be a year of centenary celebrations in 2023 and 2024, and the Cyberster is the rabbit in MG’s hat – it’s effectively an object lesson in MG saying to the world ‘We recognise our history’.
It’s a relief because, let’s face it, the modern MG hasn’t felt like ‘proper’ MG for a very long time.
I’m not talking about men on strike standing around braziers or archaic leaky roadsters, but cars that were sporting in some sort of way.
Since SAIC has been in charge, there has been a string of low-price and humdrum hatchbacks and crossovers that have sold well, but nothing exciting. Hell, even Austin Rover put red seatbelts in the MG Montego.
MG was the fastest-growing brand in the UK for the first nine months of 2022 on account of its value-for-money electric cars, so it’s doing nicely in its homeland.
The modern-day MG owner seems perfectly content in owning a car that’s a far cry from what the brand was known for half a century ago.
So, it raises the question why build a sports car?
The wraps come off the MG Cyberster
That question gains further weight when you consider the Cyberster’s, erm, weight.
MG’s last sports car was the TF LE500 – a rehashed version of the old MG Rover-era TF.
While it wasn’t cheap (they were being knocked out with a £16,400 RRP), it was light at just over 1,100kg and kept fairly true to the classic British sports car genre.
The Cyberster doesn’t. It might have two seats and a fabric roof, but its electric powertrain means this is one lardy way to have the wind buzzing around your tweed cap.
The entry-level, single motor car with 309bhp will weigh around 1,850kg; go for the four-wheel-drive version with a stonking 536bhp and you’re looking at a sports car that weighs nearly two tonnes.
It isn’t small either. Far from being a Mazda MX-5 rival, the Cyberster is more BMW Z4 in proportions – and price for that matter.
I reckon it won’t kick off for anything less than £50,000. An MGB replacement it certainly ain’t – and the Cyberster name is silly.
Does all of this really matter? While I yearn for a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive back-to-basics MG sports car, the reality is that’s not where the future lies.
Yes, the Cyberster is more of a luxurious GT than a dainty roadster, but that’s a consequence of current battery technology.
It’ll serve to pepper MG’s future range of cars with a sprinkling of sporting glamour, just like MG has done since 1923 (or was it 1924?).
On a rational level, it’ll set SAIC and MG apart from the other Chinese brands hitting the UK, and on an emotional one, it could pivot MG back to being a maker of sporting, performance cars.
The Cyberster might well be a momentous thing.
This column appears in the latest edition of Car Dealer – issue 183 – along with news, views, reviews, interviews, features and much more! Read and download it for FREE here!
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