MG Cyberster goes on sale priced from £55k
Scissor-doored electric roadster is finally here. Can it convince you not to buy a Boxster?
This feels like a long time coming. It’s been almost exactly three years since MG revealed its (British-designed) concept for a two-seat electric roadster. Now, following its official debut at Goodwood last year and after an 18-month performance and handling development programme overseen by the engineering team at Longbridge, the Cyberster officially goes on sale in the UK today. The first deliveries planned are planned for August.
So what do you get? Well, there are two trim levels: the single-motor, rear-drive Cyberster Trophy, priced from £54,995 and the flagship GT version, which adds an additional motor for all-wheel drive and costs from £59,995. Both use the same 77kWh battery, which is rated for a maximum range of 316 miles in the Trophy, 276 miles in the GT and can be charged up to 150kW, meaning it should get from 10 to 80 per cent in 38 minutes at its peak. Both share the same electric fabric hood and the flamboyant ‘signature’ scissor doors.
As you might expect, where they differ is output. The Trophy gets 340hp and 350lb ft of torque from its single motor, which sounds like an ideal amount for an electric convertible that must dissuade people from buying a 300hp Porsche 718 Boxster. It’ll do 0-62mph in 5 seconds dead. However, given the modest premium being asked, it’s easy to see the GT being favoured by British buyers - especially as it accesses 503hp and 535lb ft of torque and will get to just beyond the national limit in 3.2 seconds. Which is 718 Spyder RS territory, for less than half the price.
Inside MG promises a ‘contemporary, connected, cutting-edge experience’ from a two-seat cabin that is still intended to evoke a classic British roadster. Not many of them had screens, but the Cyberster gets three, a 10.25-inch driver display flanked by two smaller 7-inch screens. There’s even another smaller one in the centre console for the climate controls. Six-way electrically adjustable heated seats are standard, and there’s 249-litre boot behind them.
Thanks to its additional tuning phase, MG insists that the chassis has been properly optimised for British roads, which is good because the smallest alloy wheel it offers is a 19-inch 'Lightning' design on the Trophy. The GT gets 20s with uprated Pirelli P Zero tyres. There are four driving modes: Comfort, Custom, Sport and Track, alongside three-mode regenerative braking. And, of course, the full gambit of (mostly frustrating) modern safety features.
“The Cyberster is a car designed to excite, whether through its head-turning design or its scintillating performance,” said David Allison, MG Head of Product and Planning. “Both the Trophy and GT are compelling two-seat EV sporting roadsters which promise to propel grand touring into the electric age.” Reaching the UK market at a competitive price (which includes a seven-year, 80,000-mile warranty) is a great start to that ambition. Now we just need to be let loose in one to see if it drives as nicely as it looks.
If it was lighter, you'd complain about the range instead.
I JUST WANTED TO KNOW HOW MUCH IT WEIGHS
Porsche Boxster 4.0 1480kg
F-type: 1818kg
Mercedes SL: 1,910kg
So it's still heavier, but not by a huge margin.
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