MG Cyberster Preview

This car has everything a ‘petrolhead’ would want – except the need for petrol. It looks like an exotic supercar and has more power than a Porsche. It’s got an evocative brand name and is packed with tech. We were never sure if the concept would become a reality.

But it is real. It’s coming to the UK in the summer of 2024 and it will cost about the same as something like a mid-range Kia EV6 or Hyundai Ioniq. We’ve been allowed to poke and prod the first car in the UK to see if it will live up to the hype.

MG Cyberster styling

This is a car which looks bigger – and maybe even better in the metal. Instead of being a rival for the best-selling Mazda MX-5 or a direct replacement for MG’s successful MGB and MGF, it measures 4,535mm long and 1,913mm wide – the same as much larger, luxury models. It looks and feels like an expensive car – it’s around the same size as a BMW Z4.

Forget the old leaky rag roof of past MGs too. The Cyberster has a neat electric soft top, and perhaps the most dramatic part of the whole car – the doors. It features ‘scissor’ style opening doors, like a Lamborghini.

These will be excellent in tight parking spaces, but you’ll have to watch out if your garage has a low ceiling though.

MG Cyberster interior

Inside, the futuristic theme continues with a bank of screens surrounding the driver. It looks like something from a sci-fi film and you can choose a theme. There are options which are as modern as an X-Box game, but there will be more traditional options too.

The designer has told us the car seen in these pictures is 95% identical to the car you’ll see on the streets in the summer of 2024. 

But the ‘yoke’ steering wheel is one of the 5% of things we won’t get to see on the final car. Not yet anyway. The Cybersters you’ll be able to buy will have a complete wheel, but there are rumours of a drive-by-wire system like that used in the Lexus RZ which will make this a possibility.

MG Cyberster battery, range and performance

MG are being a bit cagey about the finer details for now, but we’ve been given a steer on the details which gives us a good idea. 

The cheapest model will have a single motor with 309bhp, which is still more than many performance petrol cars. The top model will have two motors and four-wheel-drive, giving 536bhp. The current Porsche 911 has 380bhp, for comparison.

There's no news of the battery size, but the constraints of the size mean it’s not going to be massive. 300 miles is thought to be the minimum amount of range customers will accept, so about 77kWh would seem right and matches the performance version of the MG4 which has already been announced. 

In terms of dynamics, we don’t know yet. But engineers have been told to make this a car which is fun to drive, but which will also not leave you knackered after a 200 mile drive in the rain. It’s not something you will be itching to take on a track day but I’ve been promised it will be ‘dynamically as good as anything’.

MG Cyberster price and on-sale date

There will be two models, with a price of between £50k and £60k. That seems a lot compared to the Mazda MX-5, but is the same sort of price as some fairly tame family electric cars.

The only other electric roadsters which are in the pipeline are the Porsche Boxster and the seemingly mythical Tesla Roadster. Both of those will probably have six-figure price tags. 

If you want a Cyberster on your drive, you’ll need to get a move on. The order book isn’t yet open and already there are people queuing with deposits. MG expect to sell between a 1,000 and 2,000 Cybersters a year – but expect the first 18 months to sell out as soon as the order bank is opened.

Book an MG test drive here