MG may have been saved from becoming a quirky British footnote in automotive history when the Nanjing Automobile Corporation (which later became part of the giant SAIC Motor Corporation) salvaged the flaming wreckage of the once-proud company from the imploding MG Rover Group way back in 2005, but some would say that has come at the cost of its rich sports car heritage.
This is, of course, utter nonsense as MG squandered that heritage quite comprehensively during the 1980s and 90s, with the final insult being the decidedly flaccid MGF (later MG TF) that blazed a bold path in finding exciting new ways to leak and blow head gaskets, but little else.
So after a decade of soldiering on with the increasingly outdated TF and rebadged Roewe (what the associated wreckage of Rover became after BMW refused to sell SAIC the name) cars followed by a further decade of solid, fast-improving small cars and SUVs produced under Chinese ownership, MG has got back into the sports car game with the striking soft top two-seater Cyberster.
But hold on to your tweed flat caps, because the Cyberster isn't your grandad's MGB - this is a high-tech, fully-electric beast with stunning looks and frankly startling performance. Packing 375kW and 725Nm from its 77kWh battery/dual motor set up, the AWD Cyberster will belt to the open road speed limit in just 3.2 seconds.
The first thing you notice about the Cyberster when you see one in the metal for the first time, is just how big it is. From photos, your mind will convince you that it is Mazda MX-5 sized due to the combination of the MG name and the layout; after all, the MGB was one of the direct inspirations for the MX-5.
But it is significantly bigger than that, clocking in at 4535mm long, 1913mm wide and 1329mm tall. This makes it a not-inconsiderable 600mm longer than an MX-5, as well as being 200mm wider and 100mm taller.
So it's bigger than you think and faster than you really need, but what is the Cyberster actually like? Well... it complicated. The Cyberster is a perplexing and sometimes utterly baffling blend of characteristics, with a lot of the decisions made around its looks, layout and performance being utterly brilliant and others… not so much.
First the good - there is a fantastic scene in the brilliant sitcom Silicon Valley where entitled tech billionaire Russ Hanneman complains bitterly that the doors of his Maserati Quattroporte don't open like the scissor doors of his previous car, a McLaren 650S, screaming "these aren't the doors of a billionaire!".
In terms of performance, the Cyberster is brutal. It feels every bit as savage as its 375kW/725Nm and 0 to 100km/h of 3.2 seconds is suggests.
Well, the Cyberster certainly gives you billionaire doors on a budget, with a vibe to match; it looks sensational. While not quite as stunning as the original concept, the MG nails the whole high-end sports car thing with its almost mid-engined looks and brilliantly showy scissors doors, and you certainly can’t make a subtle entrance in it.
Likewise the interior looks sensational, with its wrap around cockpit layout and multiple screens scattered around the cabin. Everything falls nicely to hand with sensible ergonomics, while the seats are wonderfully grippy and comfortable.
In terms of performance, the Cyberster is brutal. It feels every bit as savage as its 375kW/725Nm and 0 to 100km/h of 3.2 seconds is suggests, while its ride quality isn't the slightest bit compromised by all this grunt and is beautifully compliant and the chassis is well controlled.
So it’s a superb and impressive first go at a truly modern, fast and capable all-electric sports car for a brand that has a long history of small, light and agile sports cars, right? Well, almost.
Yes, the Cyberster is brutally fast, extremely well-appointed and equipped, and looks sensational, but there are those few baffling decisions and unavoidable compromises that take the shine off a bit.
The Cyberster weights 1985kg and feels every gram of that weight when you slam it into a corner expecting it to go around it like an MX-5 that weights literally half that.
For example, while those doors look spectacular, the fact they are electrically operated and take their sweet time to actually open as a result has a distinct downside when it is raining. While the inside of the door and a good part of the seat get rather wet, you get absolutely saturated. Such is the price of having the doors of a billionaire, but you do look like quite a dick waiting for your showy door to slowly open in the pouring rain…
Once inside, all those screens that look very modern, techie and cool are so bewilderedly laid out and poorly organised that it is difficult to find… anything really. Menus are scattered randomly on different screens, and the physical placement of some of the screens (particularly the ones either side of the steering wheel) makes them almost impossibly to see from a normal driving position.
Plus, they are also quite flaky in their operation - at one stage the camera view that comes on with the indicator got stuck on the screen, while another time the central screen just crashed entirely.
Then there is that brutal performance. Yes, it is brilliant and never fails to raise a chuckle, there is one aspect of the Cyberster you definitely need to keep in mind when you are taking full advantage of the sheer grunt on offer - and this is its prodigious weight.
The Cyberster weights 1985kg and feels every gram of that weight when you slam it into a corner expecting it to go around it like an MX-5 that weights literally half that. By that I mean, it really doesn’t like it all that much.
It’s not a return to MG’s small agile sports car past, but as a tantalising glimpse into its future, it is rather impressive and genuinely desirable.
There’s nothing wrong with the Cyberster’s handling as such, it’s just that you can’t really hide that kind of weight in a car the size of the MG. Go into a corner a bit too hard and you will suddenly be made very aware of the Cyberster’s weight as the front end pushes wide.
You quickly come to the conclusion that the Cyberster is not a small, agile sports car, but rather a smallish grand tourer, and needs to be treated as such. In fact, a GT-style approach of slow in, fast out suits the MG perfectly, with circumspection on the way into a corner and ballistic acceleration on the way out being a rather fun and infinitely more satisfying way to drive it. It will even let the rear end have a tiny waggle on occasion, possibly as a reward for discovering this.
In fact, it is as a grand tourer that the MG truly shines. Sure, the interior screens are a bit mental and doors will ensure that you will either spend a lot of time waiting for the rain to stop or just getting very wet, but the bullish performance, impressive comfort and sheer sense of occasion it brings are an intoxicating blend of characteristics.
No, it’s not a return to MG’s small agile sports car past, but as a tantalising glimpse into its future, it is rather impressive and genuinely desirable.
How much is the MG Cyberster?
The dual motor AWD model you see here sells for a hefty $129,000, which is either a lot for an MG or a bargain for a sleek, sexy roadster that hammers to 100km/h in just over 3 seconds, depending on your point of view. There is also a 250kW/475Nm single motor RWD version that costs $109,900 and knocks the 0-100 sprint over in 5.2 seconds.
What are the key statistics for the MG Cyberster?
The Cyberster packs a 77kWh Ternary Lithium battery that is good for a WLTP-tested range of 443km in the AWD model (rising to 507 in the RWD model), with a 150kW/250Nm motor on the front axle and a 250kW/475Nm motor on the rear axle making up that 475kW/725Nm combined peak output.
Is the MG Cyberster efficient?
MG claims a combined efficiency of 19.1kWh/100km for the Cyberster which is both pretty good for a seriously quick sports car and genuinely achievable in the real world. Not if you're constantly hammering that 0-100 sprint though...
Is the MG Cyberster good to drive?
The Cyberster is a superb GT, boasting a comfortable seats, a compliant ride and genuinely engaging performance. It is very much a GT, however, and getting too keen through corners will be considerably less superb.
Is the MG Cyberster practical?
As far as two seat sports cars go, yes, the Cyberster is surprisingly practical. It has a 249 litre boot that is shallow, but quite long and wide. It does lack a frunk, however there are a number of storage spaces scattered around the cabin.
What do we like about the MG Cyberster?
The brutal straight line performance and the striking looks are the highlights here, while the ride quality is also impressive.
What don’t we like about the MG Cyberster?
The many interior screens seem to have their contents arranged at random, with little of it making much sense, while they are also a bit flaky in their operation.
What kind of person would the MG Cyberster suit?
Definitely someone who like to make a big entrance. And a fast getaway.
