New MG electric SUV all set for Goodwood Festival of Speed
MG plans to unveil two new EVs next month, both expected to be re-badged models from premium sister brand IM Motors
MG looks set to unveil a swoopy new electric SUV at next month’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, which could finally give the brand a rival to the best-selling Tesla Model Y, as well as the Skoda Enyaq and XPeng G6.
The single teaser image of the mysterious car’s rear end that MG has released so far doesn’t show much but the silhouette looks identical to that of the new MG IM6 that recently went on sale in Australia and Thailand - as do the light bar and spoiler. The car is also known in other markets as the IM Motors LS6.
You probably won’t have heard of IM Motors before, but it’s a premium electric car brand owned by MG’s Chinese parent company SAIC Motor. We were told the marque was going to launch in the UK sometime this year, but it looks like IM Motors models will now be badged as MGs in the UK. This is how it works in Australia where the cars are sold under the banner of 'IM Presented by MG Motor'.
In Australia, there are three versions of the MG IM6 available right now: Premium, Platinum and Performance. Entry-level models feature a 75kWh battery and a 291bhp rear-mounted electric motor, which offers 280 miles of range, 0-62mph in 6.8 seconds and a 153kW maximum charging speed.
The other two variants add a larger 100kWh battery that’s good for up to 345 miles on a single charge, and upgrade from a 400V to an 800V electrical architecture, like you get in the XPeng or the Hyundai Ioniq 5. This allows them to charge at a lightning-fast 396kW – faster than any Porsche Taycan – meaning a 30 to 80 per cent top-up can be done in only 15 minutes, if you could find a fast enough charger.
On top of all that, the Performance version gets a 767bhp dual-motor set-up that lets it do 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds – the same as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.
Other technology on offer in the IM6 includes a 26.3-inch touchscreen spanning the dashboard, a separate 10.5-inch touchscreen for controlling the car’s functions, rear-wheel steering, intelligent air suspension and various ‘one-touch’ handsfree parking abilities. Whether all this will be offered to UK customers remains to be seen.
MG has announced it will also unveil another new EV at Goodwood, which we suspect will be the MG IM5 that’s also already on sale now in Australia. The BYD Seal and Tesla Model 3 rival can do 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds and boasts up to 407 miles of range. Also on display at the festival of Speed will be the new MG Cyberster Black edition and the big, brutish MG Cyber X concept unveiled earlier this year.
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