The MG Icon looks suspiciously like the MINI Countryman Coupé, but with a little more attitude. Either way it marks the car maker’s first serious attempt at stamping its mark on the automotive design landscape and shows promising signs of real innovation, which can only be good news for the brand.

The Icon is said to take its inspiration from some of the brand’s most famous sports cars including the MGA and MGB GT.

MG’s design director, Williams-Kenny, whose team designed the new SUV concept said, “The MG brand has a unique set of values and heritage and allows us to offer individual design values to our products.

“The MG Icon represents our vision of a modern MG and we feel that the small SUV canvas demonstrates MG’s capacity for progressive design with respect for its long heritage.”

“We have balanced familiar brand cues, such as the wide and powerful front end graphic interpretation and, as one would expect, with a strong focus on the unique MG octagon.

“The MG Icon clearly demonstrates a progressive and soulful British spirit and has a lithe and powerful stance – its proportion harmonised by feature lines interpreted from MG’s iconic greats.”

The MGB GT inspired rear with structural lamps mounted on top of haunched wings are another highly distinctive feature of the design. The MG Icon has a four ‘shell’ seat layout, allowing the rear seats to fold down completely into the floor, making the compact SUV both versatile and functional.

Williams-Kenny added: “The MG Icon highlights a global vision for MG’s design and represents a milestone for the brand, particularly this year which marks the 50th anniversary of the MGB.”

NGT cars are cheaper to build, but also faster than the S2000 cars, due to their standard turbocharged engines and offer a much lower threshold for new manufacturers (such as MG Motor) to join the series.

The team will run two MG6s under the name MG KX Momentum Racing, driven by two-time BTCC champion Jason Plato and new team-mate Andy Neate. MG last competed in the BTCC as a works entry from 2001-03, whilst the last time we saw the MG badge on the grid was in 2008 when Jason Hughes drove the West Surrey Racing built MG ZS.

Plato, with an unrivalled 68 race wins in the BTCC to his name, said: “It’s really exciting to be involved in a brand new all-British team and it’s just brilliant that the iconic name of MG will be back on the track.”

MG is one of motoring’s truly evocative names so its BTCC campaign will, I’m sure, really capture the public’s imagination

MG’s return to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship has been warmly welcomed by Series Director Alan Gow, who said “MG is one of motoring’s truly evocative names so its BTCC campaign will, I’m sure, really capture the public’s imagination. This high-profile return to the forefront of competition in the BTCC is also certain to prove highly effective in terms of marketing for MG and all of its partners, as well as delivering some great results for them on the track.”

He went on to add, “This news has again underlined the great success of our NGTC regulations, enabling teams and manufacturers such as MG to embark on a major BTCC programme in a far more cost-effective and competitive basis than before – hence the reason we have such a fabulous diversity of makes and models in our championship.”

L to R: Jason Plato and Andy Neate will drive for MG in the 2012 BTCC series.

Nevertheless Shanghai Automotive Industries Corporation (SAIC) says that the MG6’s arrival “marks the start of one of the most exciting periods in the 85-year history of the iconic MG brand, as it prepares to expand globally, starting with the world’s largest automotive market in China”.

The MG6 engine line-up will feature two lightly updated versions of the 1.8-litre K-series engines (now called N-series), one of which is turbocharged and the other normally aspirated. The normally aspirated version will most likely produce around 133bhp, while the turbo version is said to produce nearer 158bhp. Despite rumours of a diesel version, we understand there is no immediate likelihood of such a version.

Production of the Roewe 550-based hatchback will commence at the Longbridge plant near Birmingham at the end of 2010, home of MG Rover until its demise in 2005, although sales of Chinese built cars may begin in the UK slightly earlier.

The famous Morris Garages (MG) logo has also received a redesign to accompany the MG6′s launch, with carries the unenviable responsibility of “re-establishing the once highly regarded British marque.”