McLaren is entering new territory with a $200,000 grand tourer planned for those who want a performance luxury car that is comfortable for a weekend getaway with room for skis and golf clubs in the trunk.
So far we have only seen a teaser, but McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt tells MotorTrend the two-seat road car will be delivered to customers starting in July or August as a 2020 model. There is no limit on how many will be sold beyond capacity constraints for McLaren as a whole at its Woking, U.K., plant.
He expects about 500 will be made and sold this year with 40 percent going to North America. It could be one of the higher-volume products for McLaren because it is practical and easy to drive.
Flewitt personally loves the 570GT that came out three years ago and was often his daily driver. He thought if a variant of the 570S has this much appeal, imagine what a dedicated touring car would be like. “I wanted a stronger player, designed from scratch,” said Flewitt. Hence, development of this new and unnamed GT commenced three years ago.
It is an elegant car that is practical and suited to long journeys. “I think it will attract largely new people to the brand, a new audience,” said Flewitt. He claims it will be the best-driving grand tourer out there and weigh about 330 pounds less than the competition with its carbon-fiber body. “It will be the lightest, best power-to-weight in its segment and the best driving car.”
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The benchmark competitor is the Bentley Continental GT. The grand tourer will also take on Porsche Turbos and the BMW 8 Series, said Flewitt, but it will stand out from the group because of its weight and handling.
McLaren Speedtail
McLaren released a camouflaged picture that shows lineage to the top-of-the-tree Speedtail that has a lot of room beneath its $2.25 million price tag. While McLaren announced the grand tourer at the Geneva Motor Show, it did not have a car ready to show.
The GT, at about $200,000, is priced between the Sport and Super series, and it actually creates a new series for the automaker, which means expect more touring cars in the future. To keep things from getting too confusing, Flewitt is considering combining the Sport and Super series into a single Super series, while keeping Ultimate and adding Grand Touring.
The GT becomes the fourth of 18 new McLarens planned by 2025 under the corporate Track25 business plan.
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