They've mastered EVs, now Chinese brands want to make sports cars
Wednesday, 12 April 2023
The surge in western interest in Chinese car companies and their products namely relates to pure electric cars from the region like the MG ZS EV and BYD Atto 3 – often praised for their tech and value for money.
With Chinese carmakers seemingly outpacing their Japanese rivals on the EV front, it seems numerous companies are turning their attention to broadening their respective line-ups. For at least two brands, that means introducing new sports cars.
Earlier this year, BYD unveiled the YangWang U9 – a striking quad-motor fully electric supercar that’s slated for production. Now, MG looks set to get in on the two-seater action, with the first images of its new sports car coming to light overnight.
Whilst MG’s new roadster has yet to be formally detailed by the marque itself beyond several teaser images, it has broken cover via a pair of images issued to the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology ahead of its unveiling at next week’s Shanghai Auto Show.
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The handsome soft top is called the Cyberster. Whilst it lifts some design cues from the concept of the same name that MG debuted two years ago, MG has obviously dialled back the concept’s aggressive look – to the point that the two cars look almost nothing alike.
Not that this is a bad thing, necessarily. The production Cyberster looks quite attractive … like the love-child of an Alpine A110, Mazda MX-5, and Aston Martin Vantage. Although those arrow-shaped taillights might be an acquired taste for some.
The pinched front and rear end give it classic roadster proportions, with MG adding a few modern-day performance car touches, including air curtains for the rear wheels and an aggressive diffuser.
Although MG has yet to detail the Cyberster’s full mechanicals, some numbers have already been reported online. According to these reports, the model is set to be powered by one or two electric engines with buyers able to choose between rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
The single-motor RWD base model is said to pack 231kW of power, while the dual-motor AWD flagship ups that figure to a combined 400KW, with a top speed of 200kph. Battery and range details are expected to be confirmed when the model makes its formal debut.
The Cyberster will be the first convertible to sport an MG badge since the MG F and MG TF, the latter having been produced up until 2005 when the marque was still UK owned, before being produced in China when the brand scooped new owners until 2011.
Drop tops and roadsters form a large chunk of MG’s heritage. The brand’s first model, the 1924 MG 14/28, was a soft-top sports car, and eventually paved the way for the likes of the Midget, MGA, and MGB.
The BYD YangWang U9 is a different kettle of fish. Its 960kW quad-motor powertrain is said to be good enough to get it to 100kph in less than two seconds. Range is rated at up to a credible 700km per charge.
BYD showed off the U9’s unique new ‘Disus’ suspension system earlier this week via a video showing how it can drive on just three wheels, with BYD labelling it “the most advanced vehicle body control system of the industry globally”.
Disus makes use of adjustable air shocks, a controllable damper solenoid valve, and “the world’s first intelligent hydraulic body control system”.
In videos shown online, BYD boasts that the system can make the car ‘dance’, ‘jump’, and drive on three wheels without the unloaded brake disc or axle touching the ground.
It’s presumed that the system will also benefit the way the U9 handles, perhaps with clever levelling software or in the way it irons out bumps. Perhaps if the model makes it to New Zealand, we’ll be able to see it for ourselves.