More details have emerged about McLaren’s upcoming SUV. The British marque, which is best known for its supercars and hypercars, is expected to launch a direct alternative to the Ferrari Purosangue in the near future.
It’s not yet known if the performance-focused SUV will be a two-door or a four-door model, but we do know that it is going to be a hybrid and more practical than McLaren’s standard offerings.
As you may expect from McLaren, any larger car with the company’s badge on it will likely be a performance-focused vehicle first and foremost. So expect the powertrain to involve a powerful engine, probably a V8 with an electric motor, adding extra power and torque. Strangely for an SUV, weight-saving measures may also be employed in an attempt to make all of that power go further. CEO Michael Leiters alluded to as much while speaking to Road & Track.
“For me, a supercar that weighs two tons is no supercar,” The McLaren head honcho said. “It is easy to have a better power output to increase the performance. This is longitudinal performance, if you like. Acceleration. But the better question is, what is the lateral performance? You cannot deliver that if the weight is too high.”
Piers Scott, Head of Global Communications at McLaren Automotive, has also suggested that the vehicle may debut at a price point of $400,000 or so; which is in line with the likes of the Purosangue and Rolls-Royce Cullinan and about 30% more than a Lamborghini Urus.
The SUV may be built on a BMW platform
As with many other high-end manufacturers, McLaren won’t be building the entire SUV itself. Instead, some parts will be outsourced. The British manufacturer is currently considering its options as far as a platform is concerned, with BMW seemingly being a strong contender. The Munic-based automaker currently produces a line of luxury and performance SUVs (including hybrids), and it has already carved out a respectable share of the EV market with vehicles like the XM. A potential “Southeast Asian” partner has also been rumored.
Officials at McLaren have denied rumors that the company is working with Tesla on its upcoming SUV. Elon Musk’s Texas-based company is still the global leader when it comes to EVs, though competition from China has threatened that in recent years. Tesla isn’t averse to working with other manufacturers, as the recent and widespread adoption of its NACS charging system and the access to Tesla’s supercharging network that comes with it have shown.
If the rumors turn out to be true, it wouldn’t be the first time McLaren has collaborated with the German manufacturer. The company’s most famous vehicle, the McLaren F1, was famously powered by a BMW-built V-12. While McLaren may source engines from BMW-rival Mercedes AMG these days, the collaboration between the two companies didn’t end in the 1990s. Currently, BMW supplies plenty of components to McLaren, including the batteries used in its hybrid models.
