Key Takeaways
- McLaren is considering a ‘shared performance’ model, possibly partnering with BMW.
- Unlikely to be a battery EV; a hybrid seems most likely.
- Any future McLaren SUV (or sedan) must embody the brand’s core principles of lightness and engagement.
The automotive world isn’t what it was a decade ago, and it’s now considered essential to have an SUV in your lineup, even if you’re a sports car or supercar manufacturer. Porsche, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Lotus, and even Ferrari have all caved, and it seems McLaren could be next with help from an unlikely source: BMW. That’s according to Piers Scott, McLaren’s Head of Global Communications, who confirmed to CarScoops at the recent Artura Spider launch that BMW may be an option for McLaren to partner with on a so-called ‘shared performance’ model.
Neither McLaren’s intent to build a family-friendly sports car nor the rumors of it working with BMW are new. Previous reports suggested the tie-up would be focused on an electric supercar, although an SUV was previously mentioned. However, amidst global pullback from EVs and increased commitment from enthusiasts to keep combustion alive in supercars and sports cars, an electric McLaren is not high up on the British marque’s priority list.
McLaren
McLaren Automotive is a manufacturer of sports cars, supercars, and hypercars based in Woking in the United Kingdom. It was launched by Ron Dennis as a spin-off from the McLaren F1 team, and as such, is named after Bruce McLaren. It is famed for its F1-inspired development of high-performance sports cars, supercars, and hypercars like the F1 – the first official roadgoing project from the automaker – and more recent projects like the P1 and McLaren Senna. McLaren was recently purchased by the Mumtalakat Holding Company, a sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
- Founded
- 2 December 1985 (as McLaren Cars), revived in 2010 as McLaren Automotive
- Founder
- Ron Dennis
- Headquarters
- Woking, England
- Owned By
- McLaren Group (Mumtalakat Holding Company)
- Current CEO
- Michael Leiters
The ‘Shared Performance’ Vehicle Almost A Certainty, The Partner Not So Much
When Michael Leiters was appointed CEO of McLaren, it was assumed to be a certainty that an SUV was coming. After all, he was at Ferrari when the Purosangue was in development and was believed to be highly influential in its production. Leiters has been pretty open about having a vehicle with more utility than a standard McLaren, suggesting it might not be an SUV but could instead be a sedan-like rival to a Porsche Taycan. Piers Scott echoed a similar sentiment, stating that McLaren is “exploring a wide variety of different options” and that the model could have two or four doors but would definitely have more than two seats. But developing a new platform for such a model would be prohibitively expensive, with CarScoops suggesting it could cost upwards of $1.3 billion.
Related
The First McLaren EV May Not Be An SUV After All
But whatever the brand’s first electric car is, it will cost at least $200,000 and offer much-improved quality.
A partnership with another automaker could help reduce development costs significantly for McLaren, which is why it’s in talks with other manufacturers. But the BMW-McLaren tie-up is not guaranteed, and McLaren is investigating a multitude of partners, but did rule out a tie-up with Tesla or Lucid – another rumor that’s done the rounds recently. Whoever McLaren partners with, the report suggests a McLaren engine may still be used. CarBuzz learned that the V6 in the Artura may be used in other products, and its compact nature, plus hybrid integration, could make it ideal to power a vehicle in which packaging is extremely important.
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McLaren SUV “Must Be A McLaren Through-And-Through”
At the same event, CarBuzz spoke to McLaren executives about the growing SUV trend, and while they would neither confirm nor deny plans for such a model, they were firm on one thing: any future model bearing the McLaren badge would have to stay true to the brand’s core ideals of lightness and engagement. Anything from the brand “must be a McLaren through-and-through” – it’s as simple as that. While they wouldn’t be drawn into speaking negatively of rivals, there was talk of SUVs that, aside from their badges, have nothing in common with the historical ideals of certain brands.
The same can’t be said of Ferrari, whose Purosangue is clearly a Ferrari product. Take off the badge, and it still looks like a Ferrari, and the naturally aspirated V12 mounted aft of the front axle isn’t found in a dozen non-Ferrari products in the same way the V8 in a Lamborghini Urus is. That philosophy is something McLaren executives lauded, and it suggests that the decision-makers behind the scenes won’t let any ‘shared performance’ model hit the road unless it delivers on everything you expect when you climb behind the wheel of a McLaren road car.
That means the likelihood of a McLaren built around a BMW XM’s bones is slim to none, as in our experience, BMW’s second-ever pure M car doesn’t live up to the performance credentials the M badge suggests.
Source:
CarScoops
#McLaren #BMWs #Fight #Ferrari #Purosangue
