After years of gimmicks and experimentation, MG seem to be returning to its sports car roots with the new E-Motion, a sleek electric coupe concept car that’s scheduled for production in 2020, priced from under $60,000.
The new concept is set to be one of the only electric sports cars capable of rivalling the Tesla Model S. Following the release of several images in the build-up to the Shanghai Motor Show, the new model has received excellent feedback, and it seems there’s very little that’s going to stop it from getting the green light in a few years.
The E-Motion features slim butterfly doors that are very pleasing to the eye, with sleek ridges and a gentle curve that begs for vehicle wrapping. It has high-end connectivity features and infotainment capabilities for passengers in both the front and rear. Thanks to its all-electric powertrain that’s been developed by the company in-house, the car is capable of doing 0-62mph in an incredible 4 seconds. The charge range has been estimated at 310 miles.
The front styling treatment on the E-Motion will be familiar to a lot of car nuts, as it’s more or less identical to the upcoming ZS small SUV, but the profile is almost like an Aston Martin, without too much clutter on the rear design and smart, vertical headlights. The front grille, on the other hand, seems to draw a lot of inspiration from Mercedes’ “diamond” grille, with a pattern made up of myriad dots, rather than the traditional mesh style. This is surrounded by various design hints that aren’t too far off from Mazda. Certain motifs in the headlights will remind you of the MG Icon concept from back in 2012, which itself was considered a tribute to the MG B.
The sporty E-Motion is something of a far cry from MG’s more market-friendly models. The MG 3 supermini, and the MG GS SUV, are much more affordable, and have been gaining a lot of popularity since they hit the market. However, all the evidence suggests that the higher-ups at the company believe MG’s existing customer base is ready for this new, exciting, but ultimately more expensive car. When it hits the market, the E-Motion will mark the first all-electric MG since the EV concept that was announced almost 3 years ago.
Aside from what it looks like, and the engine stats listed above, there’s very little we can say for certain about the E-Motion. We don’t know how accurate the “under $60,000” estimate is going to turn out to be, and we don’t know which countries this electric vehicle is going to be released in, especially with Trump interfering more and more with the US auto industry.
The answers to many of these questions are going to be largely down to people’s reactions to the car. Speaking from MG’s R&D centre, product planning boss Zhang Liang said that MG would certainly put the car into production if its reveal at this year’s Shanghai Motor Show garners mostly positive reactions.
