The MG Cyberster concept previews the MGB Roadster’s successor.
Think British roadsters of old and the images that get conjured up are all stylish, minimalist and characterful. Even Mazda got it right with their homage, the MX-5. One of the core brands behind British roadsters in the 1960s and 1970s was MG. The brand has since fallen into the hands of the Chinese automotive giant, SAIC. They’ve made quite a success of it, however, and now plans are in place to revive roadsters like the MGB, but with a modern twist.
The first concept we’re seeing that might be turned in to a production roadster from MG is the Cyberster. The Cyberster was just revealed over the weekend and it has most of the elements necessary for a proper roadster model. There are 2 doors, 2 seats, good performance, and a sporty silhouette. The thing is, it’s also a little bit wilder than one might imagine.
First of all, it’s imagined as an electric vehicle. That’s immediately antithetical to the romantic image of a roadster. Electric vehicles are silent, very torquey and limit journeys to areas with charging facilities. A true roadster needs a petrol engine that’s playful but not too powerful and it needs to be about the journey, not the destination.
This MG Cyberster is a little too obsessed with technology and connectivity to really embrace traditional roadster qualities. It has 5G connectivity and an ‘interactive gaming cockpit. I imagine it’ll be difficult to fully enjoy the drive with the range anxiety of an electric vehicle.
Which is probably why the concept also states that the electric range is 800km. Of course, that kind of range is still a few years off. Even the best EVs today get about 650km in the right conditions.
The styling’s also kind of tacky. There’s so much going on and it’s all so red and covered in LED lighting. What do you think? Would you like to see this go into production, or would you rather stick to something that holds true to roadster ideals, like a Mazda MX-5?
PRESS RELEASE
The Cyberster – developed by the team at the MG Advanced Design Centre in London – is a two-door, two-seater sports car recalling the brand’s tradition, drawing a number of styling cues from the classic MGB Roadster while also ushering in new high-tech features, including an interactive gaming cockpit and 5G connectivity.
The MG Cyberster’s intelligent all-electric architecture will enable an approximate EV range of 800km (500 miles) and deliver a 0-100km/h time (0-62mph) of less than three seconds, while the body is designed to enhance aerodynamic performance, the classically shaped MG grille also serving as an air duct to ensure airflow over the car’s chassis.
It features classic round MG headlights, coupled with a slim grille design, along with interactive ‘Magic Eye’ headlights that open when switched on.
Other striking details of the MG Cyberster are the ‘laser belt’ LED strip down the side of the car and the outline of the door, which follows the direction of the LED strip.
Its powerful sports car profile has a distinct two-stage shoulder line, with a flattened ‘kamm tail’ rear, accentuated by unusual ‘hacker blade’ alloy wheels. The tail lamps are of LED construction and are integrated flat into the rear of the car, projecting a digital image that echoes MG’s British heritage.
The “digital fibre” interior design theme adopts a driver-centric layout, with a separated cockpit for driver and passenger and a large-sized LED instrument cluster with a second central screen. The screen ahead of the driver presents all of the key vehicle information in a modern nut minimalist style, while the central display houses its more interactive features.
MG’s ‘Zero Gravity’ seats have floating head restraints, while the door panels and red leather handles reflect the ‘laser belt’ that runs down the car’s exterior.
