What’s the best way to prove the MG Cyberster’s claim as an electric sportscar? Go streaking around at a Formula 1 circuit of course
Words: Gaurav Davare
Photography: Kalidas M, JSW MG Motor India
Ever since it was showcased at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025 earlier this year, the MG Cyberster has been long anticipated in India. The electric roadster has got some cool bragging rights in achieving the fastest 0-100 km/h acceleration on a salt lake at 3.2 seconds.
Now being good in a straight line is all well and good, but this is a common bragging right for electric vehicles, and considering JSW MG Motor India claims the Cyberster to be an electric sportscar, a sportscar also needs to be potent while sending it around corners. So what’s the best way to prove this claim? Well, you put it through its paces around a racetrack and we did exactly that around the Buddh International Circuit in Noida, which once played host to F1 and, more recently, MotoGP in India.
Before we get to how the MG Cyberster is like to drive on the limit, let me explain the point of a convertible/roadster body style. Simply put, it is to grab attention and seeing a car’s roof go down never gets old, no matter the era. The soft-top on the Cyberster does it in under 10 seconds. Soft-top aside, it’s also a sight for sore eyes with the classic roadster appeal owing to that low-slung silhouette, and numerous sharp lines adding character. A standout bit in the MG Cyberster is the eye-catching lighting that makes it look something out of the Cyberpunk world. The 20-inch alloy wheel design is also elegant with a nice swirl effect while on the move. Of course, the cherry on top is the set of powered scissor doors, a trend that dominates wall posters. In fact, those doors aren’t just for show as there are sensors that pause the opening process if it detects walls, objects or unsuspecting pedestrians.
Head inside and there’s no arguing that the cabin layout is driver-focused. There’s a flat-bottom steering wheel, and it is flanked by three digital screens—two side seven-inch touchscreens and a 10.25-inch instrument cluster. There is another portrait screen around the centre console as well. The good news is that the digital screens are responsive and don’t have a plethora of sub-menus to access basic features. The not-so-good news is that, with this driver-focused screen layout, the steering wheel blocks certain parts of the two side screens, so it isn’t the most functional layout.
Impressively, the materials and fit-and-finish feel quite premium, expected for a car costing Rs 75 lakh (ex-showroom). There’s an adequate dose of metallic accents and soft-touch surfaces with the dual-tone colour combination nicely laid out. Even though this is a two-seater roadster, there are some practical bits like a 200-litre boot, two cup-holders in the centre, a glovebox, another centre storage, as well as an additional hidden storage section within the door pads. Of course, anyone looking for more is better off going for a different segment. As for the sports seats, they have a nice snug fit, are decently bolstered and keep one well-settled for when they want to have fun. But those with a height above six feet won’t really have a comfortable soft-top experience as it’ll be cramped inside, or their head can even block the soft-top roof.
It’s finally crunch time, and for a quick spec-check, the MG Cyberster comes with dual-electric motors that make a combined 510 hp and 725 Nm, with a claimed 0-100 km/h sprint in just 3.2 seconds. This is paired to a 110-mm thick, 77-kWh battery pack with an MIDC rated range of 580 km on a single charge. Range isn’t our concern for this test as we’ll be going all-out around an F1 circuit.
We had two curated test zones to try out, with one being two hot laps around the Buddh International Circuit. I’ve always appreciated the circuit while driving on it in videogames as the layout has a nice mix of stop-and go corners, long straights, as well as high-speed bends like the Parabola section. So, driving it in real life for the first time was a nice way to tick off the bucket-list and felt better than I thought. As for the Cyberster, we know it’s a drag-spec rocket and it was around the kilometre-long main straight where I managed to hit an indicated 206 km/h. While the Comfort and Sport driving modes didn’t offer a massive jump in powertrain performance, the Super Sport mode really took things up a notch.
Fortunately, the MG Cyberster can corner decently as the electronic differential lock and Pirelli P-Zero rubber helped it hold the line well and I could throw it around high-speed corners with some degree of confidence. Under braking the four-piston-calliper Brembo brakes had more than enough stopping power under hard braking. That being said, despite having Light, Standard, and Sport steering modes to adjust the feedback, even under the heaviest setting, the steering felt a little too light and disconnected for my liking and having a sharper feeling would’ve been ideal to really give that sporty feedback. The next test zone was a slalom section with an autocross track, a moose test, and a figure-of-eight section. Here, the Cyberster had no problem as, being nimble, flicking it around wasn’t an issue and it felt stable.
As for the open-top experience, the main allure isn’t just from the raw, unfiltered outside elements but the symphony of an engine note that blends in like a royal orchestra. This being an electric vehicle—credit to JSW MG Motor India to offer sound modes to try and mimic an internal combustion engine—it doesn’t quite feel the same as an ICE roadster.
All said and done, the MG Cyberster may not be the quickest electric vehicle around, let alone being the quickest electric sportscar, but it makes a fine case for an electric roadster. It has the exterior appeal, feels premium inside, is a quick dragster, is decent around corners and, in fact, is the most affordable convertible one can buy. There is a lifetime warranty on the battery for the first owner as well as a three-year/unlimited-km vehicle warranty. So it’s hard to argue what kind of car can offer all this in under a crore.
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