MG Cyberster: We drove it at Goodwood

We had out first look at the Shanghai Motor Show in 2021, then the debut in its final form last year at Goodwood and finally the return to the 'scene of the crime' to finally give the first taste to the press. And, what's more, in a very tasty location.

The MG Cyberster, after a long bake, has finally come out of the oven and the tray on which it is served to me is none other than the historic Goodwood circuit.

I tell you how this soft-top sports car, celebrating 100 years of the MG brand, has fared.

Time travel

The Goodwood track is a fascinating place for several reasons. The first is its authenticity. It was opened in 1948 and has never been altered since, which is more unique than rare.

But it is the whole context that makes the hearts of car enthusiasts beat faster. The low pits, the Rolex watches with gold hands and white backgrounds like the ones you see in the racing films of the 1950s and 1960s and the lap counter with the hand-held placards make you feel you are in another era, the right one for 'analogues' like me.

And so, while a few hundred metres away the Festival of Speed is underway and, even closer, old biplanes are taking off and landing, in this incredible journey through time there it is, the new MG Cyberster. I'm compelled to think of the Duke of March - the father of the current owner of this beautiful estate - who created this home circuit to cultivate his passion, also shared with the other gentleman drivers of his lineage, for one brand in particular.

Bentley? No. Jaguar? No! Then Lotus?! Brace yourself. The Duke was a Lancia enthusiast.

MG at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024

The Italian jobs

And now that you've recovered from the shock, I think of all the pieces of Italy that are in this new MG that, to celebrate its first 100 years, has showcased a car that fuses its tradition of English-style open-top cars with the ‘electric’ present imprinted by what has been its owner since 2007, the Chinese company SAIC.

To begin with, the Cyberster is fitted with Brembo calliper brakes, its interior is richly upholstered in Alcantara along with leather, the 19 or 20-inch rims are fitted only with Pirelli tyres and the tuning of its chassis, with double wishbone suspension at the front and multi-link at the rear, is the work of Danisi Engineering.

This is not the first time that other motorbike and car manufacturers in the shadow of the Great Wall have relied on Italian sensitivity and expertise to give their products character, and I don't think it will be the last. And then there are the doors that open upwards electrically, Lamborghini style for example.

MG at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024

CyberGT more than Cyberster

The Cyberster sports a style that works when its soft top, which is made in Europe by Magna and closes in 12 seconds below 30 mph, is both open and closed.

From the front it reminds me a little of the mid-engined MG Fs that raged in the 1990s, but those were inspired in their compactness by the MG A and MG B that went down in history. Behind it is a play of light that deconstructs the Union Jack.

This Cyberster is 4.53 metres long and 1.91 metres wide, with a height of 1.33 metres and a wheelbase of 2.69 metres. So it is not a roadster, but an open-top two-seater with the character of a GT.

And if there is anything truly 'cyber' it is the dashboard, with one screen in the centre and three in front of the driver, who feels enveloped by numbers and 'machine'. The effort to offer good quality can be seen, between metal controls, gloss black surfaces and a beautiful steering wheel, cut low and stitched in leather with metal paddles behind to select three levels of recovery/deceleration. Here, if anything, they have gone a little overboard with the buttons to make the rest digital.

MG at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024

Fleeting appointment

But now we'd better get going. There is little time before the track closes, so helmet on head, finger on the button and off we go. I drive the most powerful version, the dual-motor one which, in addition to the 340 PS unit of the rear-wheel drive version (also equipped with a self-locking differential), adds another 170 PS motor to the front wheels (this one, on the other hand, equipped with a disengaging clutch to reduce friction), for a total of 510 PS and 725 Nm.

For both, speed is limited to 124 mph, the more powerful one doing the 0-62 mph in 3.2 seconds, the other needing 2 seconds more.

The delivery is smooth, almost velvety and, as far as I could feel, the soft top doesn't create any draughts. My impression was right. The Cyberster is a GT - and with two tonnes of mass, it couldn't be otherwise - with solid but not lightning-fast entry and a studied tendency to drift with the rear end every time you lift your foot off the accelerator, in the sense that you feel it close in, but soon afterwards it leans back securely and then re-accelerates.

MG at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024

It doesn't pay the price, yet

The battery, with NMC (nickel, manganese, cobalt) cells and a capacity of 77 kWh, should be sufficient for a claimed range of 275 miles, rising to over 311 miles for the rear-wheel drive version.

The 140 kW DC recharge can be considered adequate, the 7 kW AC recharge I would say not.

Well, what about the price? In the UK, the RWD version costs £56,000, the AWD requires an extra £5,000.

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