MG Icon concept previews a potential SUV for British brand
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MG Motor UK's Icon concept unveiled at the Beijing auto show combines the British marque's sports car heritage with a more modern design direction pursued by the brand's Chinese owners, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC).
The Icon is MG's first SUV concept and it previews a subcompact model similar in size to the Nissan Juke that may launch in 2014.
The concept takes inspiration from some of the brand's most famous sports cars including the MGA and MGB GT, the automaker said.
The Icon was styled under the leadership of Tony Williams-Kenny, SAIC's British design director, in Longbridge, England, and in Shanghai.
"The MG Icon highlights a global vision for MG's design and represents a milestone for the brand, particularly this year which marks the 50th anniversary of the MGB," Williams-Kenny said in a statement on Monday.
The production version of the SUV will be powered by a 1.4-liter turbocharged engine, one of the new family of small gasoline engines SAIC is developing with General Motors Co.
MG Motor currently assembles the MG6 compact sedan and hatchback in Longbridge, central England, and sells the model in the UK. The company has said it will start exporting the models to mainland Europe when a 1.9-liter diesel version arrives toward the end of this year.
The brand will launch UK sales of the MG3 subcompact in the UK "in the early part of next year" according to a company spokesman. The car is already on sale in China. The MG5, which launches in China this summer, is expected to follow, with the SUV coming after that.
You can reach Nick Gibbs at nick.gibbs@btinternet.com.
