Boutique British car maker, MG, is set to make the biggest change to its iconic badge since the company was founded almost a century ago.
The brand is testing a new identity on the stunning E-Motion electric sports car concept revealed today at the Shanghai motor show, replacing its traditional hexagonal logo with a more stylised round badge as part of a softer, European-inspired new design language that will eventually make its way across MG's existing range of hatchbacks and SUVs.
Shao Jingfeng, the chief designer for MG's parent company Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation (SAIC), told Drive at a preview of the E-Motion that he is expecting some backlash from traditional owners but said the change was necessary to integrate the badge into the more organic style.
"I make a little test with this car," he said.
"It is so difficult to use this [old badge] into our design, because it looks like a big nose. It is too pointy. It has too many angles that it doesn't fit with this new style.
"I don't want our cars to look angry with this badge, I want to make it look more like a friend."
It is the first alteration to the famed Morris Garages (MG) badge for over 90 years.
6 Comments
Jimmy G | 2017-04-19 13:01:16
You have got to be joking. A story about MG badge changes after the brand has been trashed by their Cinese owners. Who cares
MorrisGT | 2017-04-19 20:46:43
The real MG badge is, or was, octagonal not hexagonal. Who cares any more, classic cars and journalistic standards are both extinct.
Mechanic | 2017-04-19 20:58:16
The best you can say is that the car has a sporty profile, apart from that it has every current Asian styling gimmick slammed together, which presumably satisfies Chinese aesthetics. A worthy successor to the mg 3 and mg6, both duds with years old stock sitting in a paddock in Western Sydney because no one will buy them. The classic mg was a cheap, simple fun car, enough.
Titan | 2017-04-19 23:05:56
MG was never a trend-setter when it came to either technology or styling, so following the pack here with both is absolutely true to the brand. Personally, I don't quite get Shao's big nose connotation, but the rounded version seems to work as it retains some octagonality and is a refreshing update to the original art deco design. If it's the first update it's had in 90 years, then it is long overdue! I look forward to seeing the E-Motion (are they really the first to come up with this name?) going into production - a true MG successor.
Ben Boyd | 2017-04-20 00:16:43
British car maker, MG British ?
DJM61 | 2017-04-20 01:06:13
The chinese word for eight ba sounds similar to the word which means prosper or wealth. I can see why they ditched it for a circle which looks like a zero. Much more like MGs chances. Note the sports car is longer than it appears in the earlier article,