The MG Icon concept car has been awarded the prestigious ‘Best Concept’ title at the Beijing Motor Show, one of the most sought-after awards on the international automotive show calendar.
The MG Icon beat the Lamborghini Urus, Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe and Honda Concept C.
Autoweek, one of the USA’s leading automotive magazines, announced the awards and will present MG with an engraved trophy at a later date.
Greg Kable, a highly acclaimed international motoring journalist and Autoweek’s German editor, was glowing in his remarks about the Icon.
Kable said: “The Icon continues MG’s resurrection under parent company SAIC Motor, bringing newly interpreted heritage style to the compact-SUV ranks in a package that will see it compete directly against the likes of Nissan Juke and the MINI Countryman.”
No plans have been announced concerning production of the MG Icon.
It’s the first SUV concept from MG and was created by the MG global design team headed by British director Anthony Williams-Kenny. It takes inspiration from some of the legendary MG models of the past, including the MGA and MGB GT.
Williams-Kenny said: “It’s a great honour to win this very important award, particularly when the judges put the MG Icon ahead of so many other famous brands.
“The judges obviously shared our enthusiasm and vision for MG which is one of the best loved brands in the world.”
Williams-Kenny, who also led the design team responsible for the award-winning MG6 production car, has recently been promoted to his new role as Global Director, SAIC Design.
The MG6 GT fastback and the MG6 Magnette sports saloon were designed and engineered at SAIC Motor’s European Technical Centre at the MG Birmingham site where final assembly of both models also takes place.