Introduction to the 2025 MG Cyberster GT
MG's sports cars have had a bit of an odd evolution since the badge first appeared on sporty Morris cars in 1924. The original MG Midget and K3 models were - as well as being delightful sports car - serious racing machines, competing in the Mille Miglia and at Le Mans.
In the immediate pre-and-post-Second-World-War eras, MG cornered the market for relatively affordable, mechanically simple sports cars with the likes of the T-series cars, which ran from TA through to the sleekest TF model with its faired-in headlamps.
Following on from the T-series, MG suddenly came over all advanced, with the sleek and low MGA, which featured a twin-cam engine - also used in the EX speed-record-breaking car's run on the Bonneville salt flats.
Then, in 1962, came the car that everyone thinks of as an MG - the MGB. Offered in convertible and GT coupe body styles, the MGB has suffered in image terms over the years. Until the Mazda MX-5 arrived, it was the best-selling two-seat sports car of all time, but these days many regard it as a tweedy, twee, old-fart's car - an image that undersells its advanced-for-the-time monocoque construction and it's handling which was tuneable and adaptable enough to make the MGB a successful racer.
Of course, it stuck around too long, staying in production for 20 years, and becoming mired in the morass of British Leyland. Its eventual successor, the MGF (latterly the MG TF) was a clever little car, mid-engined and sweet to drive and fitted with a lovely variable-valve-timed engine, but suffered from copious reliability issues and it sank along with the rest of MG Rover in 2005.
From that wreckage, Chinese car making giant Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation - or SAIC - plucked what it felt was the only thing worth salvaging - the MG badge. Since then, the brand has been slowly rebuilt, chiefly around a series of ever-improving crossovers, SUVs and hatchbacks. Anyone who thinks MG making a family car is ahistorical would do well to remember the various versions of the MG Magentte saloon, and indeed the Metro, Montego and Maestro of the 1980s...
Now that MG has been thoroughly reestablished and is a booming marque with fast-growing sales in Ireland, the UK and the rest of Europe, it has at long last returned to its roots and made a proper, open-top sports car.
Except many people may well regard any car with electric power as not being a proper sports car at all. Clearly, those people have never driven a Porsche Taycan, but that's neither here nor there. Can this MG Cyberster truly live up to the fun-loving legends of its ancestors? Or is it just a dirty great mobile phone, all screens and batteries, cosplaying as a sports car? Our first taste of the Cyberster on Irish soil is in the range-topping GT model with two electric motors.
Pros & cons of the 2025 MG Cyberster GT
Pros: Properly quick, looks great, those doors, enjoyable to drive
Cons: Relatively slow DC charging, driving position didn't suit me
Irish pricing and rivals of the 2025 MG Cyberster GT
• Cyberster starts at €69,900
• Only electric convertible around, for now
• Priced against BMW, not Mazda
This is uncharted territory for an MG sports car, at least in price terms. Traditionally, open-top MGs have been affordable sports cars, using humble saloon-car engines and running gear to keep their costs down - hence why the MGB sold in such massive numbers; it was excellent value.
The Cyberster is a very different proposition. For now, it's MG's flagship, and it has therefore been kitted out with an appropriate amount of tech and equipment, at a level which no previous MG car - save perhaps the ultra-rare MG SV V8-engined coupe of the early 2000s - has sat. With a starting price of €69,900, the rear-wheel-drive, single-motor version of the Cyberster is around €30,000 more expensive than the car that many would consider to be MG's natural rival, the Mazda MX-5.
Indeed, the MX-5 has not only gone on to take the MGB's title as best-selling two-seat sports car ever, it's also very much the modern incarnation of the simple and affordable roadster concept, using engines and other parts from Mazda's family car range to keep costs under control.
The penny drops when you realise MG isn't aiming the Cyberster at the MX-5 at all - instead, it wants the Cyberster to be taken seriously as a BMW rival. There is slightly more than a €900 difference in price between the entry-level Cyberster (which comes with 340hp, and a range of 507km) and the basic BMW Z4, which in its cheapest form is powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 197hp. You'd have to trade up to the €95,505 Z4 M40i to match the entry-level MG's power output.
Standard equipment for the base-model Cyberster includes 19-inch alloy wheels, a fully electric roof, launch control, a seven-inch touchscreen and a wraparound cockpit with three further screens, an eight-speaker Bose stereo, and a set of dramatic, electric, Lamborghini-style 'scissor' doors.
Upgrade to our €75,500 dual-motor, four-wheel-drive GT test car (a chunky price, but it's more than a second faster to 100km/h than the Z4 M40i) and you get 20-inch alloy wheels as your only notable piece of extra equipment. Really, you're paying for the extra motor and the performance that brings.
Performance of the 2025 MG Cyberster GT on Irish roads
• Searingly fast in a straight line
• Good fun to drive, if no trackday tool
• Comfortable when cruising
If performance is what you're paying for, then the MG Cyberster certainly delivers. The standard 340hp rear-drive version is rapid enough, but this 510hp GT model is a proposition that's far more senior. Peak power of 510hp not so long ago was proper supercar territory, and if you activate launch control and hammer the accelerator then the Cyberster duly obliges with a searing 3.2-second 0-100km/h time that's enough to crush the air from your lungs.
If it's become drearily predictable that humble electric motors can conjure up such performance without much in the way of aural drama, then there's equally no denying the sheer rush of being in such a rush. You may not do it much (your passenger certainly won't thank you for repeated standing starts) but it's certainly impressive.
Just as impressive is the way the Cyberster happily lopes along when you don't want to be in a rush. Electric cars are inherently refined, compared to combustion models, and the Cyberster is a comfortable GT - just as it's named - when you want to drive in a more laid-back manner. The ride quality is decent for a start. It's certainly firm, and there's a bit too much vertical heave on really challenging roads as the battery pack's weight makes its presence felt, but other than that it's well enough sorted.
Is it fun, though? Yes, it is, but you may need to recalibrate your expectations a little. If you're expecting the instant-grin, plugged-in sensation you get from the (much, much cheaper and much, much slower) Mazda MX-5 then you've come to the wrong place. The MG has sweetly balanced steering, and it corners rapaciously, but the weight (300kg more than the BMW Z4) does hold it back a touch.
You need to give that lovely nose a beat or two to settle into a corner and then use the inherent extra traction and performance of the four-wheel-drive system to haul you through, up, and out of the corner. It's not quite a point-and-squirt car, but as with any hefty vehicle, it's best to use a slow-in, fast-out technique.
That's helped by decent brakes, although the regenerative effect of the motors doesn't seem to ramp up much, even though there are adjustable levels of regen braking on the screens.
The electric roof, which is well-insulated and snug fitting, will give any nearby MGB owners a terminal case of jealousy, as they flap-draft-and-leak their way home on a rainy night.
If there's a downside, it's with the driving position. The driver's seat just sits about two inches too high up for my liking and so if, like me, you're tall then your eyeline is almost level with the top of the windscreen, forcing you to sit stooped behind the wheel, which isn't great on longer journeys. This won't affect all drivers of course.
Running costs of the 2025 MG Cyberster GT
• Decent efficiency and range
• Not the fastest for public charging
• Very good seven-year warranty
The Cyberster GT gets a decent official range of 443km from 73 useable kWh of battery capacity. Charging up at home on a good night rate should cost only around €7-8, depending on your tariff. That's a lot of kilometres for the money.
In the real world, range is fine - that 443km seems broadly realistic, even if it will drop closer to 320km or thereabouts if you're on the motorway all day. Fast DC charging at 144kW is fine, but AC charging limited to 7kW is a shame when others manage 11kW.
MG gives all of its new cars a very impressive seven-year warranty, and there's a generous 150,000km limit (the first year is unlimited). MG will replace the battery if it drops below 70 per cent of its original storage capacity within those time and distance limits.
How popular is the MG Cyberster in Ireland?
• Sports cars never sell well in Ireland
• Cyberster on single-figure sales numbers
• Halo model status assured
Ireland is, alas, at best an uninterested market for sports cars, and at worst a downright hostile one. Blame our national obsessions with practicality and not wanting to pay much tax. At least the Cyberster ticks that box - it'll cost you just €120 a year in motor tax - and perhaps that's why six have already been sold at the time of writing, which isn't many but it's equally not too shabby for a pricey two-seat convertible.
That's two more sales than BMW has managed with the Z4, although a long way short of the Mazda MX-5, which is on 24 sales at the time of writing.
In a broader sense, though, MG has become a very popular brand in Ireland. It currently sits in 21st place in the sales charts, ahead of such perennial favourites as Mazda, Citroen, MINI, Fiat and Honda. Not bad going for a brand that, two decades ago, everyone thought was dead. Having the Cyberster as an eye-catching halo model - to be backed up by a delectable coupe version later - can't hurt.
Verdict - Should you buy the 2025 MG Cyberster GT?
Yes, you should - although I'm not sure I'd buy the GT. The standard rear-drive model doesn't save you a lot of cash up front, but you get more range, slightly lower weight and slightly sweeter handling. I could easily live without the GT's 3.2-second sprint time, and the rest of the car is essentially the same. Taken as a whole, though, the Cyberster is a bit of a winner. Sure, it's expensive, but it's good looking, fast, fun and has those awesome doors. What's not to like?
FAQs About the 2025 MG Cyberster GT
Is the MG Cyberster any good?
Yes, it is. It's not the lightweight, affordable sports car of old MG, but once you get your head around that, it's fast, capable, fun and great looking.
What is the top speed of the MG Cyberster without limiter?
We don't know - MG quotes a top speed of 200km/h for the Cyberster GT, and to be honest once you reach that, you'll be running the battery down so fast that there's not much point in keeping your foot pinned for long. Even if you are on a derestricted German autobahn, where such speeds may be permitted.
How long does it take to charge the MG Cyberster?
Charging at home will take about ten hours on a standard 7.4kW wallbox. Fast charging on a DC charger, at up to 144kW, takes 38 minutes to go from 10-80 per cent charge.
How safe is the MG Cyberster?
The Cyberster hasn't been tested yet by Euro NCAP, and it may never be considering its niche market status. Having no roof is obviously an issue when it comes to crashworthiness, but MG has done well with its other models in NCAP testing, and it helps that the Cyberster has basically nothing but crush space in front of you.
Want to know more about the MG Cyberster?
If there's anything about the MG Cyberster we've not covered, or you'd like help in choosing between it and other cars, you can avail of our expert advice service via the Ask Us Anything page.
