The MG Cyber concept has been revealed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, showcasing a large high-performance electric SUV that will become the new range topper in the Chinese manufacturer’s range. 

The MG Cyber concept has taken design inspiration from the radical EX181 land speed record car, a teardrop-shaped car that reached nearly 255mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats back in 1957. Mind you, when I had a look around the MG Cyber concept at Goodwood, I did struggle to see where this huge electric SUV’s styling harks back to that historic MG. 

MG talks about ‘athleticism and sophistication’, and you can see that in the rather Lotus-like lines of the Cyber. The double-strake LED headlights and rear lights give a distinctive signature, and the high, flared arches and sweeping roofline and sharp leading edge of the bonnet give it a sleek, sporty look. I love the metallic green colour of the Cyber concept, too. In fact, I’ll go back to that Lotus reference, as this is almost British Racing Green, isn't it – a colour that I've seen a lot on the electric Lotus SUV, too. 

MG is keen to emphasise that the Cyber concept is showcasing a performance vehicle that happens to be an SUV. In fact, MG claims that the Cyber concept “combines the versatility and practicality expected by modern customers with the emotional appeal, dynamic character and sense of occasion traditionally associated with sports cars”. 

That’s a big claim to suggest that this luxury SUV will have similar appeal and dynamic abilities as a sports car, but let’s not forget that the sports SUV is a hugely successful formula and there are milestone cars in this class for MG’s new, electric sports-SUV to rival. 

​MG hasn't even confirmed that the Cyber will be made into a production car - this is a design concept, so we obviously don’t have pricing or tech details, let alone details for when it might go on sale. But this is a large SUV with an emphasis on style and performance. 

If it does make production, I’m expecting it to be pitched fairly high end, and it may even tread on the metaphorical toes of smaller, prestige SUVs like the Porsche Macan, Tesla Model Y and BMW iX3 in terms of pricing, while I suspect that performance will be a real highlight. It also seems to cross over with the existing MG IM6, which seems to already fill the role that the Cyber concept is showcasing, so perhaps the iM6 will be short lived?! 

As for batteries, range and charging? Well, it could well get the new semi-solid state battery tech that MG is showcasing first in the MG4 Urban, but if it’s to compete with all of these rivals then it’s going to need some 350 to 400 miles of range. 

MG Cyber is on display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed – we're a long way from the days of the MG Montego...