The new MG Go concept car is the first preview of the new MG 2 supermini, which will arrive in 2027 as a rival to the likes of the Renault 5 and Mini Cooper.
It has been unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed alongside another MG concept, a plush SUV called the MG Cyber.
The production version of the Go will be positioned as a fun, fashionable model rather than a budget offering and marks the latest entry into a new segment by the Chinese brand, as its growth and expansion continues.
There are few technical details on the Go other than the fact that it's electric and around four metres in length, making it smaller than the current MG 3 and similar in size and proportions to the Renault 5.
The concept is a hot hatch in its styling, with a bodykit, big wheels and a diffuser among its sporty touches, but in shape and spirit it gives a close look at the production model that will follow, MG design boss Jozef Kaban confirmed to Autocar.
He added that it was effectively the production model "dressed for Goodwood", but the concession to sportiness didn't extend to making it overly low or close to the ground, because MG wanted to show off the production intent.
Kaban said the Go references sporting models from MG's past, like the B, but is very much forward-looking and not a retro remake.
He hopes the car becomes "iconic" for the brand as it continues its development, saying: "There will be lots of emotion with this car and you will feel that MG is moving again."
MG Motor UK's product director, David Allison, said the fashionable supermini part of the market is one that MG has "long wanted to get into" and it would bring new customers to the brand who wouldn't otherwise have considered it.
"I genuinely think we can sell this car to people who probably wouldn't look at one of our current cars, due to the strength of the look and design," said Allison, adding that the 2 will be able to more than hold its own against other fashion-focused small cars.
The model has been designed at MG's London design centre and been engineered very much with European and British buyers in mind.
That British angle will be pushed forward by MG but not necessarily in Britain itself, said Allison: "It sounds odd, but in some ways the British angle is more a thing in other countries than it might be here. In certain parts of the world, the Indian market for example, the British heritage is huge. So it's important for different reasons in different countries."
