Peter Lyon
May 12, 2025
MG has just won a major design award—the ‘iF Design Award.’ The low-slung MG EXE181 concept car which played a starring role in the brand’s global 100th anniversary celebrations at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2024 has just captured the prestigious iF Design Award. The iF Design Awards are one of the largest and most prestigious design competitions in the world and annually attracts around 11,000 submissions from nearly 70 countries.
Envisioned and created by Carl Gotham, Advanced Design Director of the China-basedSAIC Design Advanced London, and his design colleagues at the company’s Advanced Design Studio in London, EXE181 pays tribute to the original EX181 ‘roaring raindrop MG’ land speed record car which blasted across the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in the late 1950s and was piloted by drivers like British racing legend Sir Stirling Moss who reached 246mph in 1957. Two years later, America’s Phil Hill—the 1961 F1 world champion and 3-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winne—would improve the record by achieving 257mph.
Carl Gotham and his team imagined a potential MG land speed record challenger of the future, propelled by Kilowatts and rotors rather than fossil fuels and pistons, whilst skillfully retaining many of the signature design features of the first MG.
The result is a stunning concept vehicle which according to the iF commendation is a study of style, innovation and efficiency and which acts as an ambassador for the next chapter of MG. The same talented design team, based in Marylebone, played a leading role in the development of the 2-seater electric MG Cyberster.
“It was a unique opportunity for our designers,” comments Carl Gotham.
“We wanted to celebrate MG’s remarkable past as a daring and innovative sports car manufacturer that pushed boundaries, but with the extra and exciting brief to work with the most advanced materials and technology and visualise an all-electric MG land speed record car of the future. Whilst always a pure concept vehicle devised to excite, we also designed with a purpose which included running a series of aerodynamic tests and keeping the single-seater cockpit. ”
There was a further iF Design Award in the User Experience category for the Rising OS Intelligent Cockpit System Design. SAIC Motor R&D Innovation Headquarters offered a compelling glimpse into the future of passenger mobility with an advanced HMI system based on using system algorithms to enable a greater range of more detailed customized permissions for drivers and passengers which support safety, comfort and personal driving preferences. As a SAIC Motor brand MG is a potential beneficiary of this advanced R&D innovation and design.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
What an outstanding way for MG to celebrate 100 years. After temporarily holding land speed records in the late 50s, MG—now owned by China’s giant SAIC group—has just unveiled its sleek EXE181 concept car that looks ready to take on another land speed record. Given that MG employed two of F1’s best-known drivers, it’ll be interesting to see who they invite to pilot their next attempt.
