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.”
The three-door crossover has seating for four passengers, though the rear seats can fold down completely into the floor to increase luggage space when necessary.
The Icon concept is believed to share its underpinnings with the China-market Roewe 350 and MG5 models, with power possibly coming from a new turbocharged four-cylinder engine that is being developed by MG’s parent company SAIC. According to sources, a production version could follow as early as 2014.
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