MG Cyberster 2+2 coupé due for launch later this year

MG has confirmed plans to put the four-seat hard-top version of its Cyberster sports car into production. 

The fixed-roof Cyberster GTS was revealed as a running prototype at last year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, but there has been no word on a likely launch date since then - despite suggestions that it could arrive as early as this year.

But now, MG has confirmed at the Shanghai motor show that a production version is inbound and could land in time for the 60th anniversary of the original MG B GT in October.

Asked for an update on the Cyberster GTS, MG parent company SAIC's design boss, Jozef Kaban – who was responsible for the concept – would only go so far as to say: "It's coming."

He cited the positive public reaction to last year's concept as a factor in MG giving the green light to a production version, saying the exposure "made it happen". 

Kaban was speaking on the sidelines of the unveiling of the new MG Cyber X concept – a brutalist electric crossover that's set to go on sale as the second model in the enthusiast-focused Cyber model family, alongside the Cyberster. 

He hailed the effectiveness of the two-door sports car as a halo model for MG as an incentive to expand that line-up.

"It makes you smile," he said. "It makes you happy the moment you open the doors. You know everybody's watching. You know you are the star.

"That's why we love cars, because you feel that they are there to make you stronger. They make you happy. They make you shine."

A new derivative of the sports car would effectively give MG's Cyber brand a three-car line-up - and the dramatic difference in billing between the Cyberster and Cyber X model lines suggests there could be bandwidth between them to expand it further.