McLaren has been around for quite some time, but when the launch of your first and your second road models are separated by close to two decades, then you hardly qualify as a car manufacturer. However, they’ve mostly spent majority of their efforts in the world of motorsports with very few offerings in the consumer market.
As you might know, production of the F1 begun almost 20 years ago, in 1992 and stopped almost 100 cars later in 1998. Deliveries of its second production model, the MP4-12C, have just begun. Considering it performances, McLaren may be a big name in Formula 1, but it lacks Ferrari’s cache and experience in production models.
According to MotorTrend, the British manufacturer is planning for a full model range with four more models already on the drawing boards. McLaren said that they will be basing their lineup on “tiers,” with cabrio versions in all tiers. For example, the P11 (the current MP4-12C), represents McLaren’s middle tier because it goes against the Ferrari 458 and the Lamborghini Gallardo.
Now, a new hypercar, codenamed P12 is on the way. This supercar will be a strong opponent for the Lamborghini Aventador, and a successor to the benchmark McLaren F1. Beside this, there will also be a cheaper range, codenamed P13, a non-turbo Porsche 911 alternative.
For the next models the company comes with big plans. All the new range will be “true McLarens,” says Antony Sheriff Managing Director of McLaren. “Whatever we do will be based on carbon. It will have performance and handling that’s the best of its segment.”
“And that doesn’t include the factory,” adds American-born managing director Antony Sheriff. The soon-to-open plant cost £40m ($63 million). Still, the company has the capacity to make 4000 cars a year.
In order to ensure the monocell is able to pass all global standards, McLaren built eight crash prototypes of the MP4-12C. Developing future cars using the same monocell will be quicker and cheaper. The P12 will run with 800 horsepower or more, but, despite this fact, weight shouldn’t be vastly different from the 12C’s because it will use more carbon fiber.
Although there will be certain McLaren design cues, the P12 and P13 won’t look like different-sized replicas of the 12C, according to design director Frank Stephenson. He says the 12C’s twin-blade side air intakes are probably not the most successful part of its styling-they were needed for functional reasons to turn the cooling air inwards toward the radiators.
Anyway, the P12 will be shown within a year and a half; the P13, which has already passed design signoff, will be seen a year after that.
Source: MotorTrend
