This is the new MG Cyberster, an electric competitor to the Mazda MX-5 created by a Chinese state-owned company, which will be sold in Europe

The British brand MG has long been owned by the Chinese state-owned car company SAIC Motor, and MG models are no longer designed and produced in UK, but in China. Indeed, most of them are clones of some Chinese models, the MG emblem on the hood is more symbolic, and the days when MG produced beautiful roadsters are long gone. Now, however, the Chinese want to bring the idea of ​​the MG roadster back to the present and have revealed in Shanghai the new MG Cyberster, a model close to the size and proportions of the Mazda MX-5, but with electric propulsion, which will arrive in Europe next year.

The design of the car was created by the London office of MG SAIC, which is a subsidiary of the parent company. It follows the lines of a concept presented at the end of 2020, which enjoyed a warm reception from the public and even 5,000 pre-orders were placed for a possible future series model. This motivated the Chinese to create a more emotional model in the MG range, in addition to the flattened MG SUVs that are currently produced.

The length of the new MG roadster is 4,535 mm (1,785 in), the width is 1,913 mm (753 in), and the height is only 1,329 mm (523 in). Thus, the car is slightly longer than the Mazda MX-5, but it maintains similar correct proportions and it is curious that at its beginnings the Mazda MX-5 was created with the MG MGB roadster from the 60s as its inspiration.

The new electric roadster remains faithful to the original philosophy of a roadster with a textile roof. However, the chapter where the electric propulsion takes it away from the classic philosophy is the rear axle, which in a roadster must be located in close proximity to the seats. Here, however, the axle is a little more shifted to the rear, to make room for a larger battery, and this will inevitably distance the handling of this roadster from the classic formula, when roadsters have a short wheelbase and are super jovial and agile in turns.

It seems that the new MG Roadster will, however, have enough power to fascinate and compensate for the deficiency mentioned above. There will be a version with an electric motor on the rear axle, which will develop 309 hp. In addition to that, there is also a version with two electric motors and all-wheel drive, the power already increasing to 536 HP, in a league that no longer has anything in common with the Mazda MX-5, but rather with the Porsche 718 Boxster or even with Ferrari models.

The new electric roadster will have one more deficiency that takes it away from the original recipe — weight. The version with one motor will weigh around 1,850 kg (4,110 lbs), and the one with two engines will reach 1,985 kg (4,410 lbs), so almost 2 tons! Therefore, no mention of the road holding of a compact and light MG roadster of yesteryear, which worked wonders even with 100 horses and a bit, just as the Mazda MX-5 works wonders these days with a maximum of 160-184 hp, thanks to the fact that it is so light.