McLaren will this summer finally preview its first new car since its bombshell merger with start-up Forseven – and the Woking firm plans to launch multiple models, all featuring combustion powertrains, by 2030.
As first revealed by Autocar, the previously struggling British sports car firm was bought a year ago by CYVN Holdings, an Abu Dhabi state investment fund.
It essentially merged McLaren with Forseven, which had been working in secret on developing a new line of vehicles, with the start-up’s CEO, Nick Collins, heading the combined operation.
CYVN has invested around £1.5 billion in McLaren, which will allow the firm to grow its range beyond two-seat mid-engined supercars.
Collins initially promised McLaren would outline its future product strategy in public before the end of 2025. But speaking exclusively to Autocar on the first anniversary of the deal, he said that was delayed for strategic reasons.
Collins vowed that from this summer, McLaren will “start to unpack” the new plan in public.
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He also said full-sized models of every new car the firm will launch before 2030 have already been shown to dealers suggesting multiple cars are in the product plans.
Any announcement is likely to be closely tied to the start of deliveries of the new W1 hypercar, the successor to the acclaimed P1.
Collins said: “From this summer, we start to go external [with our plans], whether it’s because we’re starting to deliver W1s or because we’re showing you product.”
While Collins wouldn’t comment on what exactly the company will reveal this year, Autocar sources suggest that it won’t show a production model, but it will give a clear preview of its new-look cars.
Notably, Collins told Autocar that McLaren will launch an electric car only “when our customers want one”, adding that “the market doesn’t want one yet”. This means the models in the product plan for 2030 are all planned to feature combustion powertrains, although Collins said the firm has the “flexibility” to adapt should market conditions change.
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