The MG CYBERSTER - Electric Heart, Racing Soul
In 1924, Morris Garages was brought to life in Britain and since then, the brand has been responsible for producing some of the greatest automobile marvels in the world. Their lineup included saloon cars, but it was their top-down roadsters that really got MG its due fame. Decades later, MG was acquired by China's SAIC as the market shifted towards SUVs for practical reasons. SAIC had already achieved great results in the market. Even now, the cars we see, like the Hector, Gloster and the ZS, are from MG but under the leadership of the parent company. The Chinese SAIC-owned MG had focused mostly on SUVs, but MG brand's heritage is filled with roadsters, and now the world has slowly forgotten the foundation on which the brand was built. To honour the legacy, MG decided to bring a roadster to its lineup, with permissions from the parent company SAIC offcourse. Inspired by the 1960 MG B, the famous sporty roadster at the time, MG introduced the concept version of an electric top-down convertible in the year 2021 by the name "Cyberster". Following 4 years of road testing and subtle design tweaks, the Cyberster was finally unveiled at the 2025 Bharat Mobility Global Expo as a single variant and pre-booking was initiated in March 2025. Customers could pre-book the Cyberster for ₹51,000 and deliveries started mid-August. After MG's M9 MUV, the Cyberster is 2nd car under the brand that is to be made available to the world through the CBU route. The Cyberster is India’s first electric roadster, and it's priced at ₹72.5 lakhs ex-showroom Delhi through MG’s sub-brand MG Select, which would have separate dealerships and workshops. At this price point, the competition can come from BMW's Z4 and Porsche's Boxster. Fortunately for MG, Porsche has discontinued the Boxster and Cayman in India in 2024, so it's just a head-smash war with the BMW Z4. MG right now is enjoying the successful run of its Hector, Astor, Windsor and Gloster SUVs. Will India and the world appreciate the Cyberster? Is the MG Cyberster worthy for its price? Is going electric for a roadster a good move? Let us dig into the characteristics of the car and find out.
Power & Engineering
This electric roadster comes with a 77Kwh battery that supports a dual motor setup, which is one motor for each axle. Combining both, it produces 504bhp and 725nm of torque. The Cyberster in India is available in only the All Wheel Drive (AWD) variant, but the Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) is available for the rest of the world. An AWD system in a roadster is weird, but thankfully, MG has thought about it, and they have tweaked the AWD system so that the rear axle is responsible for around 62% of the performance, whereas the front is only for 38%, now this is not the typical RWD, but we do get some sort of experience. 0-100km/h in just 3.2 seconds on Indian soil, which is absolutely breathtaking and has resulted in many awards under the Indian Book of Records for the Cyberster, but unfortunately, MG has limited the top speed to just 200km/h. Thanks to Brembo brake callipers, braking is good too, 100-0km/h in just 33 meters, as claimed by the company. Both the Brembo brake callipers and the Pirelli P Zero tyres are standard. The Cyberster gets Double Wishbone suspension for better stability and cornering control. Now, this is better than its competitor, the BMW Z4, which uses an Adaptive MacPherson suspension for reducing the weight and cornering stability. MG has introduced the thinnest NMC battery in the segment, somewhere around 110mm thick, because with the battery, the kerb weight of the Cyberster is already 2 tonnes and a bigger, heavier battery would increase the weight even more and hence temper with the performance numbers. MG claims that the DC fast charging is supported up to 144kW, which brings the 10% - 80% SOC charging time to just 40 minutes and after a full charge, the Cyberster can run up to 580kms as certified by MIDC. Yes, the DC fast charger is supposed to be fast, but the AC charger, 3.3kW portable and a 7.4kW wall-mounted charger, are way too slow, taking up to 12.5 hours for a full charge, and it's not acceptable, it's almost like MG wants people to opt only for the DC charger. The drag coefficient of the Cyberster is also best in class at 0.269 Cd, which means the car is brilliant for aerodynamics. The Cyberster supports Regenerative Braking for better range through its paddle shifters, yes, you read that right, the paddle shifters in the Cyberster are not to change gears but to change the level of Regenerative Braking from low, medium, high and adaptive. Now, how does the Regenerative Braking actually work? A lot of the automobile manufacturers have already adopted the tech in their EV fleet of cars. In manual braking, we press the brake pedal through which the brake pads put pressure on the spinning disc, the pressure creates friction, which eventually stops the car. This is a more conventional method used to date. For Regenerative Braking, once the accelerator is let go, the electric motor connected with the wheel spins backwards, generating an electric current to be stored in a battery and slowing down the car. This is best suited for heavy and quick cars, as well as for the best efficiency, an electric motor in each wheel, like an AWD system, is better. This tech does not substitute the manual braking completely (a few companies did try it), manual braking is still required for sudden braking emergencies. 4 drive modes - Comfort, Custom, Track & Sport, their is also a Super Sports button directly on the steering wheel, not saying where the inspiration came from (Porsche), this bright red button puts the Cyberster in an aggressive mode making 0-100km/h in 3.2 secs with proper track functionalities while the sports mode is comparatively less aggressive. The chassis is designed by the F1 engineering legend Marco Fainello with a 50:50 weight distribution for better handling. The vehicle-to-vehicle functionality of an EV like the Cyberster is understandable, as it can help other cars in an emergency that ran out of juice, but what exactly is the point of vehicle-to-load? Maybe one is carrying a giant espresso machine and wants to have a double shot espresso in the car!!! What the customers expect that MG has delivered is hard for me to understand. The Cyberster is a convertible sports car and not a gigantic power bank. Please, have some respect.
Design
A sports car and especially a convertible sports car, depends heavily on its looks to attract enthusiasts & admirers. After a long gap, MG had a big pressure as it's introducing a sports car to people who may have forgotten car types other than the SUV and so MG has done a fabulous job. At first glance, we can notice a low-sitting sports car with a long hood which has aggressive lines to show some dominance. The biggest selling point for the Cyberster, hands down, are the scissor doors, really scissor doors for a car that costs less than ₹1crore in India, it's going to be the highlight of the car and a definite party pleaser. Overall, the side silhouette of the Cyberster looks more like the Ferrari California T, especially in the Flare Red shade. 4535mm long, 1913mm wide and a height of 1329mm with a wheelbase of 2690mm, which is amazing for a sports car. Unladen ground clearance of 116mm, which means you can’t take the car for a bumpy ride in the rural side, of course, but in the city, this will go smoothly. A weather-resistant retractable soft top roof that opens & closes in just 15 seconds, but I am not too sure about its safety. The Cyberster is available in 4 dual-tone colour options - Nuclear Yellow and Flare Red with a Black roof, Andes Grey and Modern Beige with Red Roof. Arrow shaped tail lamps which also act as turn indicators for some reason, this is a matter of personal taste, but in my opinion, this is the most hideous design element of the car, although MG claims that they took the inspiration from the Union Jack Flag like how the Mini Cooper does it, but sorry to say this MG, there is absolutely no resemblance. Right above these arrow-shaped lights are sleek & connected taillights that are just beautiful. Stylish 20-inch alloy wheels act as a bold statement for the car. With the front tyres 245mm wide, the rear tyres are wider at 275mm for better grip and to support the rear motor as it produces more juice. The front bumper has air curtains and the rear bumper has a diffuser so that the car cuts through the air. Cyberster's aerodynamics doesn't stop with the bumpers, the side mirrors are aero-optimised as well. The logo is placed on the front of the long, aggressive hood. There is another special logo made to celebrate MG's 100 years in the business, this special logo is placed on both sides of the running board. The rear profile of the Cyberster is complicated because of the arrow lights, but still, there are a few functional elements like a spoiler lip on the edge of the boot and a slim CHMSL (Centre High Mounted Stop Lamp) just below the MG badge. The petal-shaped headlights and flush door handles are simply sensational. A camera, as part of the 360-degree camera setup, is beautifully placed between the number plate and the front MG badge. All of this makes the Cyberster an absolute head turner for sure, every exterior design element, every aspect is carved to perfection. MG didn't just stop there, the key fob for the Cyberster says "The Roaring Rain Drop" as a tribute to MG's car from the 1950s, which made history by setting world records. That car looked like a raindrop and as a tribute, the key fob looks like one too.
Let's talk a bit about the interior of the Cyberster. MG tried to give a fighter jet-like cockpit to the Cyberster, but it is quite evident that the inspiration for this cabin design has been taken from various sports cars globally and especially as many elements appear to be taken straight from a Corvette Z06. Opening the doors, one is welcomed to a cabin with a dual tone colour scheme of Black and Vermillion (basically a mixture of Red and Orange). Internationally, a combination of grey and white themes is also available, but this is not feasible in India. Everything feels upmarket and premium, with soft-touch elements, sustainable Dinamica Suede, and premium vegan leather upholstery with contrast stitching, making everything very plush. Getting inside and out of the Cyberster is comparatively easier than the competition. The Cyberster offers bucket seats, but they are not technically sports seats, as they are low and still the lumbar support hugs on high-speed turns, but they are heavy and provide more comfort as compared to sports seats. Cabin controls are a mix of buttons and touch controls, although the buttons are not specifically physical buttons but more of touch buttons in gloss black. This is a perfect bridge between old school physical buttons for every control and stuffing everything in a single screen. Now this was great so far, but MG did something terrible. The gear shifter to change P, R, N, D in an automatic gearbox has been replaced by touch buttons. Again, something that has been inspired by high-end sports and supercar makers like Lamborghini and Ferrari, but this replacement was not really necessary and it kills the emotion. The screen setup curves towards the driver, emphasising the driver-centric approach, which should be evident for a sports car. Buttons to not just lock and unlock, but to open the door from outside and inside, MG took this method instead of the conventional door handles. In case the battery dies in this battery-powered beast, there is a manual release as well on the rear wheel arches. These buttons to open and close also mean they have their own speed to do the action. If one is in a rush, then there is no option but to open and close manually, which most of us are actually going to do. What if the battery dies and one is stuck inside the car? Don't worry, MG thought this through, there are manual door buttons behind the seats. Sitting on the driver seat, the first thing one would notice is the steering wheel, which comes with a flat bottom by the way with a lot of buttons to control both the instrument cluster and the infotainment system, adaptive cruise control button on the bottom left of the steering wheel, and on the bottom right is for the Super Sports mode, something to control the launch control, this particular button is in a bright red colour as if its screaming at you to press it. Paddle shifters at the back of the steering wheel, but it's not to shift gears, but the left shifter is dedicated to KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery system) also known as Regenerative Braking and the right one is to change the driving modes. Moving on with the centre console, we get a grab handle, an absolute necessity for the passenger sitting in a convertible sports car, 2 cupholders and an armrest with little storage space. Speaking about storage and practicality, the Cyberster gets 250L of boot space, this is keeping aside the space taken by the retractable roof. No front trunk, that is weird because this is the only point in favour of EVs, that they have some space in the front as well. Not a new thing for sports cars, but the loading lip is high, so you have to really lift the luggage and place it. The scissor doors have no storage space for obvious reasons. Usually, sports car buyers have a complaint about less leg space, especially for tall passengers. In the Cyberster, on the other hand, passengers up to the height of 6ft can sit very comfortably, but passengers beyond 6ft can feel some trouble. Manually adjustable wind deflector, a helpful tool when the roof is down. Thick pillars increase the safety of the car, but they surely affect the rear view when reversing the Cyberster, so you have to rely heavily on the 360-degree camera. Compared to the competition, the cabin overall looks way better than the BMW Z4, as it substantially increases the bar as if the Cyberster is the entry level to the elite group. Even the coupe sports cars like the Ford Mustang stand nowhere.
Features
Coming to the features that the Cyberster has to offer to its buyers, it's a long list for sure. Starting off with 3 digital display screens - a 10.25-inch centre instrument cluster and 2 other 7-inch screens, the left 7-inch screen controls the infotainment system and the right 7-inch screen handles driver help features like 360-degree view, energy numbers and others. 3 screens are absolutely amazing, but the left infotainment screen and the right battery and driver help data screen are not clearly visible when driving, so one must move the neck a little to see the data. Buttons, as usual, are on the door panel for opening or closing the window, but the Cyberster has another way of doing that, through the centre console screen, we can open and close the windows, what is the use case for that? Well maybe the future buyers have button phobia. The infotainment system supports both the Android Auto & Apple Carplay with the help of Bose's 320W 8-speaker music system, although the Android Auto & Apple Carplay is wired and not wireless, its a disappointment because a car at this price these things should have been standard and its certainly not like the sports car Cyberster is saving a lot of weight by giving wired connectivity. The Cyberster has an AudioPilot system, which adjusts the music volume based on the car's speed and background noise. Now, a lot of the budget family cars in India have tried this, but the result is not satisfactory.
The Cyberster is no ordinary budget family car, it's a sports car, so we can expect good results from MG. Bose also supports the EVSE (Electric Vehicle Sound Enhancement) system, basically one can choose what one wants to hear when the car is sprinting, this could be any typical sound like the sound of a V8 ICE engine, which is also another trend started by Dodge and BMW for their upcoming EV cars. I am going to say this from the entire car community around the world, stop this madness and do not ruin the legacy of a V8 ICE. We are all trying to accept the EV as our future, but this madness is not helping. Surprisingly, the infotainment system has a Snapdragon 8155 processor and an Unreal Engine 4 graphics card. All this for a car to play songs on and open maps. Instead of all this fake V8 sound and graphics card, a sports car needs features like recording lap times, as it is offered in the Porsche 911 and even the Cayman and Boxster, but unfortunately, the Cyberster does not offer this to its buyers. There is another 7-inch screen in the centre console for heating and air conditioning controls. 4-way power adjustable steering wheel and 6-way power adjustable seats. These seats support memory function and heating support, but not ventilation support, which is another bust. Even the ORVMs support heating features as well. The Cyberster does not have a push button to start the car, so how does one start it? Well, when the car is unlocked from the key fob, it gets into ignition in order to start the car. Just press the brake paddle and the car is ready to go. Ultrasonic sensors on the door to prevent it from hitting anything while opening or closing, this is absolutely beneficial, especially on the scissor doors. Some of the basic features in the Cyberster include - dual zone automatic climate control, PM 2.5 air filter, wireless charging pad with Type A and Type C USB ports. All these features, but MG forgot something very basic, like the auto-dimming IRVM in a car worth 75 lakhs, is baffling. MG supports SAIC's Vision Full LED projector headlamp setup & LED DRL's. MG also offers the iConnect application to access some of the car's features and view some vital stats from the smartphone itself.
Safety
A sports car and especially a soft-roof sports car, needs to have good measures for safety and MG leaves no stone unturned. We get ADAS level 2 features, including lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, emergency braking and front collision warning. As a part of the ADAS Level 2 feature, the car also gets a Driver - Monitoring Camera in the steering wheel, which is supposed to provide an alert if the driver is not attentive. The Cyberster also has roll hoops behind seats to prevent the driver and the passenger from serious damage in case of a rollover. The mean machine from MG also has some of the safety features that are common in current times but hold immense importance. These features are - 4 airbags, 360-degree camera, Traction Control, Tire Pressure Monitoring System, Electronic Differential Lock, and ESP (Electronic Stability Program). Although the crash test, including EURO NCAP, Bharat NCAP, and the Global NCAP, is still pending, right now we can rely on the Cyberster. The Cyberster supports a high-strength H-frame structure and an SSF (Static Stability Factor) of 1.83. We can easily deduce that the car would not easily roll over and there won't be many life-threatening dangers in case of a collision, but for satisfaction, it's best if MG can get the crash results soon. 3 years and unlimited kilometres warranty, which can be expanded to 5 years and 150,000 kilometres. 3 years of roadside assistance with one free inspection. Lifetime battery warranty for the first owner and once the owner changes, the battery warranty is 8 years and 160,000 kilometres.
Conclusion
As per today's date, in India, if anyone with a budget of ₹1crore wants to buy a car, we would have a lot of options, but if we filter it down to performance numbers, sports car and especially a convertible, then unfortunately, we are left with only 2 options - BMW Z4 & MG Cyberster. Many of the global brands pulled out their businesses from India for purely economic reasons and are only left for enthusiasts willing to import and even get it serviced through 3rd party sources. Porsche pulled its plug on the Boxster, brands like Mazda and Toyota are not ready to bring their sports cars to India, even the coupes like the Mustang and Cayman have been long discontinued by Ford and Porsche, so this space is not a very lucrative and demanding space. MG, on the other hand, took a bold step of introducing the Cyberster in India. Since the announcement, the hopes were high and MG delivered its best yet. Only the AWD option is available in India and not the RWD option, yet the Cyberster has made its way to get the liking of the Indian buyers. One of the best-selling elements of the Cyberster that would attract the maximum number of buyers would be the iconic scissor doors. Keeping the Cyberster aside, if one wants to by a scissor door sports car that goes 0-100km/h in 3.2 seconds in India then they have to go for a Lamborghini Aventador (if available) for approximately 6 crores or a Revuelto for 8 crore, next best option would be a Mclaren with butterfly doors and not scissor doors for approximately 5 crores. This does not justify the Cyberster to be equal to a Lamborghini or a McLaren, but the ideology behind MG's initiative is to provide a sense of super sport and luxury at an affordable (comparatively) price. Taking inspiration from all possible sources, the headlights are similar to those of the new Corvette, the doors are straight from any Lamborghini and the interior door handle on the console is from the Jaguar F-Type, the Cyberster is the most practical, daily drivable and most importantly, the most affordable sports car in India right now. Yes, it misses some features like the auto-dimming IRVM and Ventilated seats and supports some terrible trends like adding artificial V8 engine noise through the music system, but if your car goes 0-100km/h in just 3.2 seconds, which by the way is faster than the BMW Z4 and even Porsche Boxster then even a EV hater like myself would stop at the Cyberster and say "yup, this is a good one". MG wanted to honour the legacy built by cars like the MG B & MG A and through the Cyberster, they have succeeded in this endeavour. After this, the people would know that the MG is not a brand that makes just SUVs.