Futuristic MG Midget Concept Created by Design Student During Internship at SAIC

More than six years after China's Nanjing Automobiles acquired the once-famed MG brand only to be incorporated itself in SAIC Motor's portfolio a couple of years later, the British carmaker is still struggling to find its way and re-enter the global scene.

At last month's Beijing Auto Show, we saw MG providing a glimpse into the future with the Icon, a study for a small crossover coupe.

Another proposal for a future MG model comes from a design student of the Coventry University in the UK, who created a sports car concept during his internship at SAIC Design.

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MG Icon Scoops Best Concept Award at the Beijing Motor Show, Do You Agree?

Neither the sharp lines of the Lamborghini Urus SUV nor the sculptured body of the Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe managed to convince a panel of judges at the Auto China 2012 in Beijing when it came to picking out the 'Best Concept' of this year's show. Instead, most votes landed upon the new MG Icon small crossover.

The awards were announced by U.S. car magazine Autoweek, which plans to present MG with an engraved trophy at a later date.

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MG's Beijing Show Icon Concept Previews a Small Crossover that Could Enter Production by 2014

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), the Chinese owner of the MG Motors brand, is eyeing the Nissan Juke and the small crossover segment with a new concept study named the Icon that was officially revealed today at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show.

The British company's first ever SUV concept was created by the MG global design team headed by British director Anthony Williams-Kenny who says he took inspiration from some of the most well-known MG models of the past such as the MGA and the MGB GT.

“The MG brand has a unique set of values and heritage and allows us to offer individual design values to our products," said Williams-Kenny. "The MG Icon represents our vision of a modern MG and we feel that the small SUV canvas demonstrates MG’s capacity for progressive design with respect for its long heritage."

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New MG Icon Concept Crossover to be Unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show

These are the first official sketches of a new concept model from MG named the Icon that will make its world premiere at next week's Auto China Show 2012 in Beijing.

The Icon is said to preview an upcoming compact crossover model that will be launched in China within the next two years. Some of the car's styling elements are loosely inspired by the fixed-roof MGB GT built between 1965 and 1980.

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MG Preparing an Array of New Models to Conquer Europe

SAIC Motor Corporation, the owner of MG Motors, plans to develop several new models for the British brand in order to boost sales outside its home market in China. The Chinese owner of MG Motors has already spent £1 billion ($1.64 billion) to re-launch the MG and Roewe brands (former Rover) and intends to invest another £2.2 billion ($3.6 billion) to achieve annual sales of 700,000 by 2015.

In 2010, the two brands sold 160,397 cars, most of which were delivered in China, with only 2,000 units exported to other markets. This past April, MG launched its new mid-size MG6 in the UK, the first new car to be assembled at the British firm’s Longbridge plant in 16 years. The company said that when it completes the development of a diesel version, it will offer the car to rest of Europe. "We will not go into mainland Europe without a diesel," UK managing director, William Wong, told Autonews.

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Canadian Man Throws a V12 into a 1967 MGB GT

If you are a car guy like Mark Sawatsky of Winnipeg, Canada, and you happen to have a Jaguar 5.3-liter V12 and an old 1967 MGB GT lying around in your garage, it doesn’t take too long to come up with an impressive project. For Mark it was the creation of racecar to compete in the modified class of the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America). Read more »

Rover 55 Sedan: A Proposal for a British-Flavored Chrysler 300 Than Never Was

Once upon a time, back in the days when the MG Rover Group was alive and fairly hopeful for the future [...] in the hands of BMW, the Bavarian carmaker was dreaming up a new lineup for the British company. Among the plans was one for the development of a replacement for the outdated, fifth-generation Honda Civic-based, 200/400 series, later called the 25/45, positioned under the 75 in Rover's car lineup.

We remember many proposals and concept sketches for the car from the period, but the folks from "Aronline" managed to secure some exclusive photos of a full size clay model that we've never seen before. Named the R55, it's a design proposal for a compact sedan slightly larger than the BMW 3-Series said to have been completed back in the Spring of 1997.

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Beijing Show: MG Zero Supermini Concept

This year's edition of the Beijing Motor Show saw China-owned MG unveiling the 'ZERO', a thinly disguised concept of an upcoming production model in the supermini segment -most likely called MG3- that could go on sale in China first and then in Europe as early as next year.

The company emphasized the fact that the 4m long supermini was developed in the UK by MG Global Design team, led by British MG Design Director Anthony (Tony) Williams-Kenny, based in Birmingham.

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Shanghai Show: MG Rover's MG6 to Enter Production in 2010

At the Shanghai Auto Show, SAIC Motors' MG division presented its first all-new model since acquiring the rights to the British firm's brand name in 2005. The sporty looking MG6 Concept, which is in fact a near production model that is scheduled to enter the Chinese market in 2010, was penned in the U.K. The five-door fastback is heavily based on the Roewe 550 four-door sedan which in turn uses a modified version of the old Rover 75's front-wheel drive platform and 1.8-liter K-Series engines.

Just like the 550, the production MG6 will be offered with naturally aspirated and turbocharged 1.8-liter gasoline engines producing 130 and 160-horsepower respectively. Power will be transferred to the front wheels via 5-speed manual or automatic transmissions.

Though not officially confirmed, rumor has it that MG's Chinese parent is considering to bring the MG6 initially in the U.K., and if the circumstances allow it, to other major European markets also.

MG Rover MG6 Concept Based on Roewe 550 to Debut in Shanghai

Having already announced the Roewe N1 Concept, China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) that owns the rights to the MG Rover brand, revealed that its 2009 Shanghai Auto Show booth will also host the world premiere of the MG6 Concept. The five-door liftback model is based on the underpinnings of the Roewe 550 which was designed as SAIC's successor to the Rover 45.

Although details are still sketchy, the MG6 will most likely lead to a production version that might very well find its way into Europe where MG Rover already sells the resurrected TF LE500 in the U.K.

Powertrain options for the MG6 will be identical to those offered in the Roewe 550 including a 1.8-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol engine.