By Edward A. Sanchez — April 18, 2023
MG, the brand historically synonymous with British roadsters, unveiled the production-intent model of its Cyberster EV roadster at Auto Shanghai. Like many other legacy European brands, including Lotus, MG is now under foreign ownership, in this case by state-owned Chinese automaker SAIC Motor, since 2006. Since its takeover by SAIC, MG’s lineup has been predominantly focused on crossovers and compacts, since they sell in significant enough volumes to pay the bills. The Cyberster is a return the brand’s roots in a way, being a two-seat soft-top roadster.
But similarities to the MG roadsters of yore fade quickly when you look over the specifications. Unlike the iconic MGB, which made the brand famous worldwide, the Cyberster is hardly a lightweight. The original MGB rolled onto the scales at a feathery 2,000 pounds. The Cyberster, depending on configuration, crushes the scale to the tune of 4,000-4,400 pounds. The consolation prize for the porkiness is considerably more power than the original MGB, courtesy of either a single-motor configuration making 309 hp, or a dual motor version with an estimated combined output of more than 500 hp. Compared to the 95 hp of the original MGB, that’s a significant upgrade in power-to-weight ratio.
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Estimated performance is a 0-60 mph time of less than 4 seconds, and a top speed of around 124 mph. This is quite a bit more modest than initial speculation when the Cyberster was subject of rumors and speculation of a 0-60 time of around 2 seconds.
But as we’ve discussed many times on this blog and podcast, it’s not difficult to make EVs fast, but it is a challenge to maintain compelling and engaging driving dynamics as weight increases. With a weight equivalent to full-size trucks from a few decades ago, the Cyberster could hardly be described as “lightweight.” But few current EVs are, even compact ones like the Chevy Bolt and Hyundai Kona EV (3,600 and 3,800 lbs, respectively). The Cyberster’s Lamborghini-like jackknife doors probably don’t help in the weight department either, but sure make for some nice eye-candy.
If you remember my post armchair-quarterbacking and dreaming about an EV version of Mazda’s iconic MX-5 Miata, you’ll note that I had a targeted weight of around 3,000 pounds. Hitting that weight target, while providing the necessary regulatory compliance for safety and crashworthiness, as well as endowing it with a reasonable driving range, would indeed be a challenge. Mazda is not as well-versed in engineering and building EVs as many other companies, and its initial effort, the MX-30, has received less-than-illustrious reviews. But hope springs eternal for the essence of Mazda’s embodiment of “Jinba Ittai” to remain intact in its likely inevitable transition to electric power.
At first glance, it appears MG kind of “brute forced” the Cyberster by adding more power to the equation, rather than taking the Colin Chapman approach of “adding lightness.” Frankly, it’s probably more cost-effective taking that approach than painstakingly pursuing grams on every component and subsystem. Many will buy this MG on the basis of its looks alone, and have little concern for the fact that it weighs as much as a midsize crossover.
I’m not mad about the existence of the Cyberster, but neither can I say I’m particularly excited about it.
(Images courtesy MG)
