These are the first official sketches of a new concept model from MG named the Icon that will make its world premiere at next week’s Auto China Show 2012 in Beijing.

The Icon is said to preview an upcoming compact crossover model that will be launched in China within the next two years. Some of the car’s styling elements are loosely inspired by the fixed-roof MGB GT built between 1965 and 1980.

The three-door model is said to be roughly the same size as a Nissan Juke with its platform being sourced from the China-market Roewe 350 and MG5. Power will reportedly come from a new 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that is being developed by MG’s parent company SAIC.

The MG nameplate was bought by Chinese carmaker Nanjing Automobile in 2005, which in turn became a subsidiary of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) at the end of 2007.

SAIC has tried to reinvent MG and just last year, re-started production in the United Kingdom with the MG6 that was the first all-new model to pass through the gates of the firm’s Longbridge factory in 16 years.

Story References: Autoweek via Worldcarfans

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