MG’s New Electric Hypercar Concept Can Hit 62mph In Sub-2 Seconds

If there’s anything you can be certain of with Chinese manufacturers, it’s that you never know what kind of car they’ll do next. MG, a maker of value-for-money hatchbacks and crossovers has now decided to build an electric hypercar that can hit 62mph from a standstill in 1.9 seconds. Naturally.

This is the MG EXE181, which is a concept (for now, at least) designed with the Rimac Nevera in its crosshairs. Granted, a Nevera is a real production car and has proven it can do that sprint in 1.74 seconds, but the MG may have another ace up its sleeve.

You see, ‘EXE181’ isn’t just a branding result of someone’s cat walking across a keyboard. Rather, it’s a name referencing the EX181, an MG land speed record car built in 1959 (and by the old British Morris Garages MG, which has little in common with the Chinese-owned firm of today).

The original EX181 was based on an MGA, albeit with streamliner bodywork, with a drag coefficient of just 0.12.

That, combined with a supercharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine producing 300bhp (not bad for 1959), allowed the original EX181 to hit a recorded 254mph. That might give a hint as to the kind of numbers MG has in mind for the new car, although it’s worth noting a Nevera can do 256mph…

Despite looking like a rejected Vision Gran Turismo concept, the new EXE181 does have a less slippery coefficient than the original at 0.181, but it presumably will also have more than triple the power. MG has been tight-lipped on tech-specs so far, but a shot of the steering wheel display suggests a quad-motor setup, at least.

The MG EXE181 will be on display at the Beijing Motor Show this week, although we’re expecting it to be just a rolling chassis. However, with MG already announced as the headline manufacturer for this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, we’d anticipate a working car to make an appearance in Chichester in July.