The MG Cyberster might just give Porsche a run for its money
With two powertrain options and Lamborghini-style scissor doors, the new MG Cyberster is an all-electric drop-top about as genuinely British as perfect teeth.
MG is one of the fastest growing brands in Australia, selling thousands of Chinese-built SUVs and small cars to cement its place among the likes of Ford, Mitsubishi and Subaru.
But the brand began life as a British sports car builder and it has returned to those roots, revealing an all-new convertible at last week’s Shanghai Motor Show. But the new Cyberster, as you can probably tell from the name, is not a return to the likes of the MGB that made the company (which is now Chinese owned and about as genuinely British as perfect teeth) famous.
The Cyberster is an all-electric drop-top that is positioned as a rival to the premium Porsche 718 Spyder and BMW Z4, rather than the compact Mazda MX-5; which was, ironically, a Japanese take on the likes of the MGB and Lotus Elan.
While MG has not released detailed specifications, we know what to expect underneath its stylish lines thanks to a leak from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last week. The Cyberster will be available with two powertrain options, a rear-mounted, single-motor will produce 231kW of power, while an all-wheel-drive variant will add another 150kW front-mounted motor for more performance.
The fantastic looking Cyberster features Lamborghini-style scissor doors and appears to have a fabric roof, rather than the more-modern folding metal top. It will launch into showrooms in China and Europe in 2024. Importantly, it will be built in right-hand drive and is expected to be offered in Australia in the near future, but no specific time frame has been confirmed.
The Cyberster immediately becomes the hero model of the MG range, which will expand in Australia later this year with the arrival of the MG4 electric crossover and the MG5 sedan. These will join the MG3, ZS and HS in the Australian line-up, which have proven so popular the brand is now embedded inside the top 10 in sales each year, despite its limited offerings.
While it may have British heritage, the current iteration of the company is a very different proposition. MG Motors was bought by SAIC, the Chinese state-owned operation, in 2016 and it reinvented the brand as a maker of more family friendly vehicles rather than the compact, sports cars it was originally famous for.
The Cyberster wasn’t the only notable new model revealed at this year’s Shanghai Motor Show. In a sign of the increasing importance of the Chinese market, Porsche used the show to reveal its updated Cayenne SUV, while BMW took the wraps off its XM Red Label edition.
Polestar, which is a relatively new brand connected to Sweden’s Volvo but owned by Chinese automotive giant Geely, used the Shanghai show to debut its all-new Polestar 4 — an electric SUV that will compete against rivals from Porsche, BMW and Tesla.
The compact, coupe-style SUV will give the brand a challenger to the popular Tesla Model Y as well as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and the incoming Ford Mustang Mach-E, Volkswagen ID.4 and electric Porsche Macan.
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