MG previews Renault 5 rival and new flagship SUV at Goodwood

MG has revealed two concepts at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed, one of which will become a production car within a year or so, while the other provides clues about the brand's design direction on a large electric SUV.

Although it's not a retro car per se, the MG Go! concept was created by the company's design centre in London and takes inspiration from the MGB GT two-door hatchback; the Metro Turbo from the 1980s, and the ZR hot hatch from the early 2000s.

Carl Gotham, head of advanced design at the London studio, said the team "wanted to create something compact and contemporary, but also warm, expressive and immediately likeable".

Regarding the styling inspiration of the small electric vehicle (EV), he added the Go's design was about "capturing some of the clarity, charm and emotional appeal that have always made MG so distinctive, and reinterpreting that in a way that feels relevant today and crucially creating something with strong charisma".

According to British outlets, including AutoExpress and Autocar, the Go! concept previews the MG 2 EV that will go on sale in Europe and the UK around the middle of 2027.

Little is known about the mechanical package of the Go! except that it is an EV measuring around four metres in length. This puts it into the heart of the light car segment where it will come up against the retro-infused Renault 5 E-Tech and Volkswagen ID. Polo.

It's likely the MG 2 will be based on the front-wheel drive E3 architecture of the MG 4 Urban, which is available with an electric motor making between 110kW and 120kW depending on the variant, and either 43kWh or 54kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.

We expect the production MG 2 to feature higher-profile tyres, toned-down bumpers, full-size wing mirrors, and, possibly, narrower wheel-arches. The car's silhouette and hidden rear door handles are likely to remain.

The second concept revealed overnight was the Cyber, which is said to preview the company's new design language and an upcoming large electric SUV that will serve as the Chinese brand's flagship.

MG says the Cyber was inspired by the EX181, a slinky land speed record holder from 1957, although you might have to squint to see the connection.

It goes on to claim the Cyber concept has the "emotional appeal, dynamic character and sense of occasion traditionally associated with sports cars".

No details about the Cyber's drivetrain, performance figures, charging speed, or driving range have been revealed.

The new Cyber is the third vehicle in a series Cyber concepts, which started with the 2021 Cyberster concept that morphed into the 2023 production car. Last year's Cyber X concept was a blocky, upright electric SUV that’s expected to go into production, possibly as early as this year.

MG's UK boss told AutoExpress the company's SUV range might need to go through a facelift cycle before the Cyber goes into production, indicating the Cyber might not start trundling down production lines for a few years.