You know how MG has relaunched as a maker of all-electric SUVs and hatchbacks, but we were secretly all hoping that its Chinese owners would eventually relent to both history and nostalgia and launch an actual 21st-century MG sports car. Yeah, well, it's happening. This is not a drill.
Built in China, designed in London
This is the Cyberster, and it's the first new MG sports car since the long-defunct MG F and MG TF of the late nineties and early 2000s. And it's fully electric.
It's just been unveiled in Shanghai - now MG's home town, being as Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation, SAIC own the once-British brand - but there was some European involvement, as the Cyberster was actually designed at SAIC's styling centre in London.
Carl Gotham, Advanced Design Director of the company's Marylebone design studio in London, comments: "Our intention was to create a completely new roadster ready for a new generation of sportscar drivers and which opens a bold and compelling new chapter for MG. The focus for Cyberster was to create a design that was respectful of the brand's illustrious past and to bring back that sporting bloodline, while also being absolutely clear that it should be modern and forward-facing like the MG of today, completely in-tune with the rapid transition to electric vehicles."
Dramatic doors
The Cyberster is designed to have classical long-nose, short-boot roadster proportions and styling but with dramatic McLaren-style dihedral doors, which will cause more than a little kerb-side drama. The exterior door handles appear to be little digital touchpads, while the cabin seems to be influenced by that of the Jaguar F-Type.
Unlike previous MG sports cars - which had the looks but were usually powered by humble saloon-based engines - this electric version will have the power to take on Porsches, maybe even Ferraris.
The entry-level Cyberster will have 313hp, while the top-spec model will get a whopping 543hp thanks to a two-motor, four-wheel drive layout. That makes the Cyberster the first four-wheel drive MG unless you count the 1980s MG Metro 6R4 rally car (and we do...).
Range not quoted yet
We've no idea what kind of range the Cyberster will have, but the four-wheel drive model has a kerb weight approaching two tonnes, which suggests it has a pretty hefty battery on board, meaning 500km might not be out of the question. That means it also probably won't be exactly cheap, the bargain prices of the current MG lineup notwithstanding.
The Cyberster will go on sale in 2024, which helpfully is MG's 100th anniversary. We can't wait.