“Safety Fast!” has been the motto of MG since 1929 and it’s an ideal that Peter Swain of RBW has clearly taken to heart with his all-electric MGB, which we’re about to drive, at RBW’s base in Shenstone, north of Birmingham.
Swain spent four years, millions of pounds and filed no fewer than 1874 different documents with authorities to ensure that his MGB would be as safe as an OEM electric vehicle.
“There’s a reason why all the big companies spend so much developing a vehicle. The only time you find out it’s not safe is just when you need it to be safe,” says Swain.
Having previously been involved in electronic security Swain is a stickler for correct procedure, and knew he’d need a suitable partner to develop his idea of building an emissions-free edition of the car he first drove when he was 17 years-old.
Enter Continental Engineering Services in Litchfield, and Ian Mills who developed the powertrain for the first Smart EV, built a prototype electric Morgan, and worked on the engine management system for the Dodge Viper.
Mills and his team took Swain’s design for a battery pack fitted in the engine bay and transmission tunnel and a patented subframe to take the instant torque of an electric motor and made it reality.
RBW’s MGB starts life with a brand-new shell from British Motor Heritage. It adds a stiffening structure, the body is de-seamed and painted by artisans at RBW’s workshop, and it then returns to Continental for electrification. Chiefly that involves installing 43kWh of Hyperdrive batteries (as also used in the Nissan Leaf) and a single 140kW motor that Renault Zoe owners would be familiar with. Mercedes commercial vehicle drivers might just recognise the digital instrument panel which has been reconfigured to suit the MG. The brakes and suspension are suitably uprated and then the car returns to be trimmed at RBW. To keep things simple the only options are paint and trim colours, steering wheel, and wheels.
Overall it weighs about the same as an original MGB V8, but comes with far more creature comforts, such as air conditioning, electric power steering, and an audio system with Apple CarPlay connectivity and smartphone charging.
Swain’s brief for Mills was to make the car drive like a Mazda MX-5. “I believe that the most fun modern driving experience is the MX-5. You’re connected to the car,” he says. Heart-stopping acceleration is therefore not the aim. “It’s as quick as a BMW M4 from 0-30 mph but then we dial it back so 0-60mph is eight seconds.”
More speed is available in RBW’s prototype racer, which boasts fibreglass panels to save weight, a stripped interior, and a tad more power. Swain had hoped to get a one-make series going, but for now the focus is on building the road car business, so the red and black concept is being used by Continental as a test mule for an ABS system that could be retrofitted to classic cars, be they electrified or powered by their original engines.
RBW’s road car demonstrator, meanwhile, is put to regular use and has covered almost 7000 miles when I’m handed the key. It’s real-world range is 160 miles, so time for me to get out there and drive…
Swain is at pains to point out that the fit and finish of this vehicle isn’t a patch on customer cars, but aside from the pre-production switchgear it looks pretty well-sorted and the design is simple, giving a modern appearance to the centre console without dismissing the MG’s heritage.
The driving position is noticeably period correct. Despite the seat base being very low to the floor and my legs stretched straight to the pedals, the big wheel is quite close to my chest, and I feel quite high, like I’m sitting on, rather than in the car. It makes for good visibility but doesn’t feel quite as sporty as I’d hoped, but then I remember the 1972 Midget I had when I was 19 was much the same.
Setting off is just a case of turning the large rotary dial atop the transmission tunnel to D and pressing the go pedal. In silence the MG initially surges forward and then settles into steady, linear acceleration. Soon enough I’m at the national speed limit of 60mph and very quietly breezing down country lanes. Although fitted with electric power steering there’s an appropriate amount of weight, so that it still just about feels like an old car, only a little easier and more precise. Extra assistance can be dialled in if an owner desires. The brakes provide regeneration, but only when the pedal is applied, and would still be a significant improvement over an original B.
The ride on the bumpy Midlands country roads does indeed have the compliance that MX-5 owners enjoy (and that some choose to sacrifice with lower and stiffer set-ups to increase corner speed) making it a very pleasant way to spend a later summer afternoon at a measured pace. Only adding to the enjoyment is the fact that it’s by far the best-built MG I’ve ever driven, with nary squeak nor rattle.
At a time when EVs new and converted all seem to be chasing ludicrous (thanks Elon) performance the RBW MG is a breath of fresh air.
At £90,000 it’s priced to sell, and RBW has an order book full well into next year, with buyers at home, throughout Europe, and Japan. Just nine customer cars have been delivered to date, but production is being ramped up to 100 units for 2023. That’s also when American customers should finally be able to get behind the wheel. Given that the US market was MG’s biggest it’s no surprise that RBW has already built up a waiting list and is planning to open an assembly facility in the ‘States in 2023.
RBW will be adding the MGB GT to its catalogue and make its OEM standard proprietary electrification system available to other brands, expanding its business, but always with “Safety Fast” at its core.
This article was originally published on Hagerty US.
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But what’s the range?
Fa(i)r question!
Very clever, very, very expensive and not an MGB. If 2030 is the UK cut off for new fossil fuel cars, then there will be an almighty surge in sales of conventional new and used cars in the couple of years before, with the hope that the years remaining will be longer than my ability and permission to drive!
160 mile range
160 mile range is hardly good for anything more than a Sunday morning run to a coffee shop. Utterly useless sadly.
Crikey Murray, how far away is your coffee shop?