At one point in history, the British automotive marque MG was one of the most revered names in the world when it came to sporty two-seaters.
Through its early years, MG cars set world speed records, and it was sister company to the likes of Jaguar and Triumph. By the 2000s, MG had lost much of their appeal, and were for the most part just a snooze fest of re-badged Rovers — yes, my grandad owned one.
In 2012, MG was bought by Chinese automotive giant SAIC Motor Corporation Limited, and it’s since been pumping out SUVs, one of which is electric but are largely uninspiring and painfully practical. Sadly for the purists, MG doesn’t quite embody the company that it once was.
That looks set to change. Personally, I couldn’t be happier, but is it enough to convince the pursuits?
According to an Autocar report, in a move that is a long overdue return to character, MG is readying to launch its unnamed electric sports coupe, this year!
[Read: Affordable EVs will be the catalyst for a decade long shift to electric cars]
The move comes as part of a huge strategic push for MG to make a name for itself in an all-electric world. By 2024, the company has ambitions to sell 1 million cars a year. It just so happens that that goal comes on the company’s 100th birthday.
The electric coupe is based on the E-Motion concept, which was first unveiled as in 2017, and pundits loved it. Check out the pictures below to see why.
It’ll be a bit of a halo vehicle for MG, but even so, it represents the classic essence of the brand in a modern electrified world. Sure it’s not small and light, but it’s sporty, and it’ll no doubt be fast enough.
Best of all, with its long bonnet and soft angles, it manages to capture a form of British design that we see rarely see these days as most manufacturers tend to follow aggressive and purposeful German design influences.
Patents for the car were leaked last year and showed some significant changes to its design. However, Autocar reports that its basic shape and style remains.
For more images of the concept car, check out Autoblog’s coverage here.
Technical details are sparse, but it’s thought the coupe will be able to live up to the crib sheet originally placed alongside its concept car parent.
That should mean we’ll see a four second zero to 50 time, and 300-miles of range. It will no doubt need a battery pack in excess of 85 kWh to achieve those numbers.
MG suggests the vehicle would start at around £30,000 ($40,000) which for an EV of this type, would be a game changer. So realistically, it’ll probably cost a bit more than that, but even if it cost £40,000 it still feels like a good deal.
With that kind of price and its classic styling, it just might be enough to convince the purists to entertain MG once again. If any classic MG fan bemoans the transition to electric drivetrains, I have one message for you: “Get with the times.”
If it doesn’t convince the purists, there’s certainly a huge space in the market for an affordable and classy electric coupe with a British head badge. It could end up getting a whole new generation of drivers interested in the record-breaking marque.
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Published January 5, 2021 — 12:16 UTC