MG is returning to its roots with an electric sports car, but it’s not coming to the U.S.
Unveiled at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, the MG Cyberster is a small two-seat convertible similar to the sports cars that popularized the British marque during its glory days from the 1940s up to the 1960s. The Cyberster, however, is electric. It’s also equipped with scissor doors typically seen on more expensive supercars.
2024 MG Cyberster
For now, the Cyberster is slated to go on sale in China and Europe in 2024. The MG marque has been under the control of China’s biggest automaker, state-owned SAIC, for more than 15 years. Given the present trade environment, it’s looking less likely that a state-owned automaker like SAIC might be one of the first automakers from China, if ever, to sell its vehicles in the U.S.
Those markets will get a single-motor rear-wheel drive version rated at approximately 309 hp and a dual-motor all-wheel drive version producing around 536 hp. Curb weight of 4,078 pounds for the base single-motor model and 4,376 pounds for the dual-motor model will be far beyond that of the original Tesla Roadster.
2024 MG Cyberster
MG has offered EVs in other body styles for a few years now. The electric roadster has been in the works since 2018 or earlier—with the Mazda MX-5 Miata at least partly as the inspiration, along with, almost certainly, models like the MGB, one of the iconic sports cars from MG’s heyday. The Cyberster’s hefty weight means it will be a different beast from those lightweight sports cars, however.
The Cyberster is yet another small electric convertible that isn’t U.S.-bound. The Mini Cooper SE Convertible is a limited-production reality—but only for Europe. Volkswagen has considered an electric convertible, showing renderings in 2021. However, those renderings were based on the VW ID.3 hatchback, which isn’t sold in the U.S., making it less likely that a production version would be offered here.
