MG Icon Evokes Style of Modern MGB GT

MG is back, or at least the name is, and it brought the MGB back but as an SUV. The Nanjing Automobile Corporation bought MG in 2005 and merged with the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation in 2009. Since then, the company has been attempting to grow the MG name, especially in the UK. It has even entered cars into the British Touring Car Championship this season.

Now for the Auto Salon China in Beijing, MG has revealed the Icon, which it says is inspired by the styling of the MGB GT. The car does bear a resemblance to the MGB GT, but MG has changed the styling enough to make it modern. It looks like they threw some new Mini into the design as well.

MG says that the Icon is meant to be an SUV, but it appears too small in pictures to be called one. The design was penned by MG's head of design Anthony Williams-Kenny. Up front there are two large, round headlights set above a small grill. The Icon has large, sculpted front doors with hidden rear doors. At the rear, the car has vertically-oriented tail lights similar to the original MGB.

“The MG brand has a unique set of values and heritage and allows us to offer individual design values to our products. 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. 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,” said Kenny. 

The Icon is a hideous looking car. There is nothing wrong with retro-inspired design, but the concept of turning an MGB into a compact SUV is not a good one. It will be very interesting to see if MG decides to put a production version of this on sale.