The 2021 Jaguar F-Type is the epitome of a modern British sports car, but with a $61,600 starting price, it's far from affordable. If only there was another UK automaker that could build a more attainable sports car. Well, after a long hiatus from producing sports cars, the (formerly) British MG brand could be ready to release one later this year. This news comes from Autocar, who claims the unnamed MG sports car will feature a two-door four-seat layout and an all-electric drivetrain.
The car will be loosely based on the MG E-Motion Concept car, which debuted at the 2017 Shanghai Auto Show. MG is currently owned by China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, whose vice president Yang Xiaodong said the E-Motion could go into production following a positive reception. Nearly four years later, the E-Motion may finally be ready.
Patent images leaked to the internet last year show the production version of the E-Motion, looking updated from the original concept design. The overall shape remains the same but the front end looks more inline with other current MG products. Some obvious concept-only details, like the butterfly doors, will not reach production.
As for the powertrain, the concept promised a 0-62 mph time of under four seconds, which still seems like an attainable benchmark. As for the 300 mile range, that figure seems far too optimistic. For reference, MG currently builds an electric SUV called the ZS, which only achieves 163 miles on a charge.
The E-Motion concept sent its power from two electric motors out to all four wheels, and it's expected that the production version will do the same. If this powertrain carries over into production, we think the car will be more of a budget F-Type alternative than a Mazda MX-5 rival like initially anticipated.
Reports suggest a semi-affordable £30,000 ($40,770) starting price, which would easily undercut gas-powered sports cars like the BMW Z4 and Jaguar F-Type as well as the Toyota Supra. As with the range estimate, though, the pricing rumor could be overly optimistic as the MG ZS already costs £25,000 ($34,000) yielding much lower performance.
The production MG E-Motion is rumored to be revealed in the middle of 2021 and go on sale in right-hand-drive markets late in the year. We doubt the UK brand has any plans to return to the United States.