MG Just Unveiled an Ultra-Aerodynamic Hypercar That Can Hit 60 MPH in Under 2 Seconds
The latest iteration of MG isn’t content to stop at sports cars.
The Chinese-owned British marque has just shared images of a new electric hypercar concept called the EXE181 in the lead-up to Auto China 2024. Despite featuring one of the more futuristic designs we’ve seen in a while, it’s heavily inspired by a record-setting vehicle from the 1950s.
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The original EX181 was an experimental car built by MG to set a new land speed record. It was powered by a 1.5-liter twin-cam engine that only produced 300 hp—a number that was only reached after equipping the mill with a giant supercharger—but also featured an aerodynamic teardrop shape that allowed it to cut through the air with uncommon ease.
The design proved to be quite effective, and the vehicle would go on to set a speed record for its class when it hit 254.91 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in October 1959.
The name isn’t the only thing that the two EX181s have in common. The electric interpretation also shares its teardrop shape, though it is much more stylized 65 years later. The new version has a smooth and stretched-out design that ends in a longtail. MG says the new shape has an absurdly low drag coefficient of 0.181. That makes the low-slung vehicle even more aerodynamic than ultra-sleek cars like the Volkswagen XL1 (which has a drag coefficient of 0.199) and McLaren Speedtail (0.278), according to Autocar. The minimalistic look carries over to the car’s single-person interior, where you’ll find a yoke-style steering wheel with a built-in touchscreen display, a seat, and not much else.
MG hasn’t revealed full technical details for the concept, but the images of the interior suggest it will have four motors, like the Rimac Nevera, which has led many to believe its powertrain will produce more than 1,000 hp. Regardless of how powerful it turns out to be, it’ll be quick. The automaker says the EXE181 will be able to sprint from zero to 62 mph in just 1.9 seconds which would make it one of the fastest-accelerating vehicles in the world. No top speed was revealed, but it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if engineers are aiming to beat 254.91 mph.
Unfortunately, there is currently no sign that MG intends to put the vehicle into production. Fortunately, the concept, along with last year’s Cyberster EV, shows that the marque’s current owners, SAIC Motor, at believe that it should be making sports cars, which is a welcome change of pace after the last couple of decades.
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