A Thunderbolt from Tomorrow: MG EXE181 Rockets into Design History

If any car can make you feel like you're strapping into the future, it's the MG EXE181—a hyper-electric vision that looks like it slipped off the set of a sci-fi epic but whose soul is firmly rooted in the annals of motorsport legend. Making its first appearance at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the EXE181 has now claimed the 2025 iF Design Award in the concept car category—a resounding recognition of its bold aesthetic and engineering ambition.

Conceived by Carl Gotham and the team at SAIC Design Advanced in London, the EXE181 is more than a tribute; it's a resurrection. It nods reverently to the MG EX181 of the late 1950s—the “roaring raindrop” that tore across the Bonneville Salt Flats with Sir Stirling Moss and Phil Hill at the helm, clocking 246 and 257 mph, respectively. More than half a century later, the EXE181 reimagines that audacity through the lens of electrification and aerodynamic finesse.

Its design evokes a spacecraft more than a car: fluid, seamless lines, enclosed wheel arches, and an astonishingly low drag coefficient of 0.181—a number it proudly wears in its name. The single-seat cockpit and inclusion of a drag chute are not just dramatic flair; they suggest a machine genuinely poised to chase records.

For Gotham, the EXE181 represents a rare opportunity to fuse MG’s fearless sports car heritage with the capabilities of contemporary materials and technology. While still a concept, the car has undergone aerodynamic testing, hinting that its performance potential may one day match its striking appearance. This is not merely a design exercise—it's a whisper of what speed may look like tomorrow.