MG reveals wild electric hypercar concept

MG is getting back in the sports car game this year with its Cyberster, and in another nod to its sporting past it has revealed a wild electric hypercar concept.

Making its in-person debut at the Beijing motor show, the EXE181 concept is inspired by the EX181 – known as the Roaring Raindrop – that set a land speed record of 410.5km/h in 1959.

Designed at MG’s London Advanced Design Centre, the EXE181 has a drag coefficient of just 0.181.

MG says it’s aiming for a top speed of 415km/h, and a 0-100km/h time of under one second.

While its name is just one letter off from the record-setting EX181, the EXE181 looks very different.

It’s still obviously aerodynamic, but its body is lower and flatter with a long, tapered rear.

The wheels sit under prominent bulges, while there’s a single-seat cockpit. The driver grips a steering yoke.

After its Beijing reveal, MG plans to take the EXE181 to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July, though it hasn’t released any technical specifications for the streamliner.

The original EX181 used a supercharged 1.5-litre engine and a heavily modified MG A chassis.

1961 Formula One champion Phil Hill set a speed record of 410.5km/h at the Bonneville Salt Flats in the US state of Utah in 1959. The vehicle held the record until 2014, when it was finally toppled by Bugatti.