MG reconnects with its roots

Cyberster is first new MG sports car in 30 years; on sale in 2024 with up to 536bhp

- STEVE CROPLEY

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-metrelong BMW Z4 than its 3.96m mid-engined predecessor.