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Project Zero was developed in just three months, and was designed in the UK and built by Sivax in Japan.
The Zero is the first proper MG concept for 25 years – the last one was the 1985 EX-E, with an exterior penned by a young Gerry McGovern – and heralds a newfound design confi dence under design director Anthony (Tony) Williams-Kenny. Unveiled at Beijing’s Auto China Expo in April 2010, the Zero gives a strong indication of the forthcoming production MG supermini due later this year in China, and in other markets from late 2011. Size-wise it’s some 80mm longer and 24mm taller than a Ford Fiesta. The smart exterior by Rob Battams should stay largely intact for production, but it is the more future-facing interior that is the greater revelation, showcasing how a 21st Century MG might look.
The Zero’s white interior scheme is not supposed to reflect future colour intentions, as project leader Bassi explains: “White is a modern colour, but it gets dirty in production. What we are trying to push more is the idea of contrast. On the production car we’d probably go for a grey against a darker grey, but the other thing we also wanted to push was the bright orangey red – looking at the heritage of MG we found this colour used often.”
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