MG EXE181 electric hypercar has an insanely low drag coefficient to hunt down speed records

MG Motor has again got its sights set on land speed records, and move beyond the sports car arena. The British marque owned by the Shanghai-based SAIC Motor, has revealed the first teaser look of the EXE181 hypercar concept that will make its maiden appearance at the Auto China 2024.

The sleek hypercar has a balanced futuristic design fused with the inspirational record-setting racers from the 1950s. In fact, the sleek hypercar draws inspiration from the experimental car by MG dubbed EX181. The UFO-like aerodynamic classic racer was powered by a 1.5-liter twin-cam engine that produced 300 hp and had its crosshair set on the land speed record of that time. The dome-shaped vehicle eventually broke it in October 1959, clocking 254.91 mph top speed at the Bonneville Salt Flats

Designer: Saic Design

The new iteration of the classic record breaker has its name and the teardrop shape in common but other dynamics have drastically changed. This hypercar is more stylized for the year 2024 and is propelled by an electric drivetrain. The smooth elongated shape doesn’t look out of place and ends as a longtail when viewed from the side profile. The ride height is just a few millimeters from the ground, suggesting its racing DNA. Both the longtail design and the low ride height lend the hypercar an unbelievably low drag coefficient of 0.81.

There’s no word on the technical specifications of the hypercar but we believe it’s going to churn out 1,000 hp with ease. The only thing we know so far from MG’s official release is that the EXE181 will go from zero to 62 mph in a mere 1.9 seconds. That would make this hypercar the fastest off-the-line car on the planet. Top speed figures have also been kept in the dark so far, but we can expect it to at least break the 254.91 mph barrier set by its inspiration.

Such is the optimization of the vehicle that it supersedes the likes of Volkswagen XL1 and McLaren Speedtail having a drag coefficient of 0.199 and 0.278 respectively. The single-seater arrangement instantly puts one in the zone for competitive racing. There’s a yoke-style steering wheel and a touchscreen display to show all the HUD elements.

Don’t expect the MG EXE181 hypercar to hit the production lines anytime soon. Although, do expect to see this good-looking concept emerge as a prototype at the Beijing Motor Show 2024.

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