At the Auto Shanghai 2021 show in April, MG—now a brand of leading Chinese automaker SAIC Motor—unveiled what it calls “the world’s first pure-electric super sports gaming cockpit” for the Cyberster concept electric car along with the co-creation platform called MG CyberCUBE. The Cyber product line for the nearly hundred-year-old MG stands for a new brand development focus on Co-creating, Young, Beyond, Evolution, and Recreation.
The Cyberster served as a halo for a number of somewhat less exciting but customized or tuned MG production models including the MG6 Xpower, a special edition MG6 Bilibili gaming version, the new MG5, and two plug-in hybrids—the MG Linghang PHEV and MG6 PHEV.
However, the Cyberster was the star of the MG exhibit. Earlier in April, design sketches and images of the real concept car were released, and a video was published—all to excite global fans that a sporty electric roadster might be coming for the brand.
MG is adopting a new design philosophy called “High-Energy Romanticism,” which a brand spokesperson said, “combines violent aesthetics with romanticism.” Along with those descriptors, the debut of the concept car came with others like the “Wind Hunter” front face, “Magic Eye” interactive headlights, “Laser Belt” lighting design, and “Red Wing” taillights.
The Cyberster was developed by the team at the MG Advanced Design Centre in London. The two-door, two-seater sports car recalls the brand’s tradition, drawing on a number of styling cues from the classic MGB Roadster, but adding in new high-tech features including an interactive gaming cockpit and 5G connectivity.
“The Cyberster is a bold statement that looks strongly into MG’s future, touching on our heritage but more importantly building on our technology and advanced design,” said Carl Gotham, Director of SAIC Design Advanced London. “Cyberster is a hugely exciting concept for us.”
SAIC Design is led by Gotham, Design VP Shao Jingfeng, and Head of Design Robert Lemmens. It has Advanced Design studios in both London and Shanghai exploring new and innovative design proposals to enhance the SAIC Motor product portfolio brands of MG and Roewe.
The car’s powerful sports car profile has a distinct two-stage shoulder line, with a flattened Kamm tail rear and “Hacker Blade” alloy wheels. An aerodynamic highlight of the body is the classically shaped MG grille that also serves as a duct to route airflow over the car’s chassis. The classic round MG headlights’ interactive Magic Eye headlights make them “open” when switched on.
A striking detail is the Laser Belt LED strip that runs down the side of the car and outlines the doors. At the rear, the LED taillamps are integrated along the flat top and project a digital image that echoes the British flag.
In terms of mechanicals and performance, exciting details released for the Cyberster include an 800-km (497-mi) range (measurement protocol unknown) aided by CTP “module-free” battery technology. (Cell-to-pack technology being researched by companies like BYD and CATL involves battery packs assembled directly for the cells without the need for modules.) Combined with a new in-house-developed 8-layer Hair-pin motor, the car is said to be capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than 3 s.
The car’s SAE Level 3 autonomous driving and intelligent “atomized upgrade” technologies are said to bring customizable consumer experiences. Its intelligent electrical architecture enables the gaming cockpit and 5G.
The “Digital Fibre” interior design theme adopts a driver-centric layout, with a separated cockpit for driver and passenger, with a large LED instrument cluster with a second central screen. The screen ahead of the driver presents key vehicle information in a modern minimalist style, while the central display houses more interactive features. The car’s “Zero Gravity” seats have floating head restraints, while the door panels and red leather handles reflect the Laser Belt that runs down the car’s exterior.
As with most concept cars, the first Cyberster renderings and later reveal excited people and raised questions on whether it could be mass-produced in the future. MG’s unique response is to launch what it says is an “open-minded new business model,” in which mass production will be determined by users on the MG CyberCUBE co-creation platform.
The platform is divided into two major sections: crowd-funding and crowd-creation. The crowd-funding portion determines whether the car will be mass-produced and the crowd-funding portion determines how. The target quantity for crowd-funding is 5000 shares, with 1 share equaling 1000 RMB. Until July 31st, users can log in to the MG CyberCUBE platform. They only need to put down 1000 RMB as “Dream Gold” for deposit to participate in crowd-funding. Once the target shares are reached, the project is considered to be successful launched.
Let’s hope for the best.
