Land Rover Defender-shaped EV unveiled in China as a follow-up to the Cyberster electric roadster
MG has taken to the Shanghai motor show to reveal a rugged, boxy SUV concept that previews the second model in its fashion-focused Cyber line-up.
The Cyber X is a bold, two-box, 4×4-inspired crossover measuring 4.3 metres long – making it roughly the same size as the Land Rover Defender 90 and slotting it in below the 4.5m-long MG S5 EV that recently arrived in the UK.
It has been revealed in concept form without an interior, but MG parent company SAIC’s design boss Jozef Kaban suggested to Autocar that the speed of development in China means it could quickly be made production-ready.
One priority of the concept is to demonstrate how the more enthusiast-focused Cyber line-up could be expanded, he explained, and to bring a new character to the MG family.
“One thing we have been talking about is the passion of MG and delivering experience which is not just going from A to B but a pleasure which makes you happy.”
MG, Kaban said, “connects young and old people, rich and unrich people. Not many brands have the ability to do what MG does.”
While the Cyber X previews a sibling to the Cyberster electric sports car and would likely share its fundamental underpinnings and technologies, it takes a radically different design approach – as part of Kaban’s plan to give the Cyber line-up as broad an appeal as possible.
“When you see the Cyberster, it’s soft like a circle, with almost no edges, and with the other one coming, it’s almost like plus and minus. They are completely different. But plus cannot live without minus. Their contrasts bring people together.”
Kaban highlighted the octagonal outline of MG’s emblem as a shape that could be interpreted as a “square circle or a round square” – a theme he says translates to the radically different design treatment for the sleek, flowing Cybester and its brutalist new SUV sibling.
“The point is to show that we are so diverse, we are different, and MG is the brand which is able to handle two characters, because they will have one thing in common: the joy in connecting people and in being fun to have.”
Kaban said that the priority with the Cyber X’s design was to “give families an emotional car, to give them joy by not needing to compromise at the stage of life when they have a family”.
The production version of the Cyber X will be MG’s third distinct SUV model in Europe. It’s only slightly smaller than the ZS and S5, but Kaban said its radically different design and positioning means it can co-exist with its high-riding rangemates.
“Of course we have the HS and ZS, and they are going to live, but we could give another star next to them to shine, to make the family even stronger.”
Kaban said the Cyber X’s monolithic silhouette is not a reflection of a desire to rethink traditional SUV designs but rather a recognition that “being a little bit edgy doesn’t need to hurt”.
He referenced the unusual pop-up headlights – “like a [Ferrari] Testarossa” – as a particular design highlight, saying that the advent of the ‘digital world’ means some historic car design differentiators have been lost and the Cyber X concept is designed to explore ways of bringing some of that character back.
Source: Autocar
