SAIC Motor, MG's Chinese parent company, has revealed renderings of two new concepts intended to showcase the company's vision for future mobility.
The first, the R RYZR, which has been developed for SAIC's electric R brand (more of which anon), is a strange creation, part car, part motorcycle which utilises a jacket that the driver wears in place of a key.
Images released by SAIC show a two-seat open vehicle with a pair of widely spaced front wheels and two rear wheels side-by-side, giving it, according to the company, "motorcycle agility with car-like stability".
Pictured standing beside the RYZR is a person wearing what looks almost like a spacesuit, but which is, apparently, the jacket meant to unlock the car rather than the wearer/driver using a key or phone app.
According to Carl Gotham, Advanced Design Director at SAIC, the R RYZR "combines the aesthetic of cutting-edge technical apparel and augmented reality with futurism. It's an exploration of unconventional mode of transports for the future - new architectures, new experiences and new emotions."
The RYZR is such an outlandish concept that it's unlikely we'll see any elements of it reaching production stage. What we may possibly see, however, is cars from SAIC's R brand landing in Ireland.
R is an electrified sub-brand of Roewe, a company, like MG, under the SAIC umbrella. SAIC already sells the Roewe i5 here as the MG 5, and so if SAIC begins selling cars here from its R brand, they'll likely be wearing MG badges. SAIC has said that its handsome electric SUV, the Marvel R, will be coming to Europe and will be called the MG Marvel R. The company also said, however, that the model would not be sold in the UK, which doesn't bode well for us fellow right-hand drivers next door.
Another high-flown concept which SAIC also revealed was the MG Maze, which is quite a bit more car-like in form than the RYZR.
The Maze, is, according to MG, inspired by computer games and its styling by high-end gaming PCs with their exposed componentry.
That styling transparency shows off the Maze's chassis and what appears to be a rear-mounted electric motor driving the rear wheels. A large canopy opens at the front to reveal a futuristic two-seater interior.
Steering, MG says, is controlled not by a wheel but by the driver's smartphone, which makes Tesla's yoke setup look comparatively mundane.
According to Carl Gotham: "The concept is a reaction to our lives during recent months, where we have been met with restrictions and limitations on our ability to move around and interact. Exploring the idea of 'mobile gaming', we used Maze as platform for people to get out and rediscover their environment in a new and relevant way, opening up new experiences with their city."
MG goes on to say that: "The gaming aspect of the car reflects a desire to discover and reach new achievements, via a points-based reward system. Our car helps users to re-discover their city and their world by seeking exciting digital street art that is interacting with structures, buildings, and landmarks."
Although the MG Maze is highly conceptual in form, it's just car-like enough not to preclude the possibility that some of the styling elements may eventually make it into the design language of MG's production cars.