McLaren to Jumps Back Into Supercar Biz With Model Blitz
Or not. I mean, it’s got to be an April Fool’s joke, right? With Aston Martin desperately seeking suitors, with cars sales in general and luxury car sales in specific in free fall, could there BE a worse time to announce your intention to enter the supercar arena? (And I sincerely hope the answer to that question is no.) And yet Autocar tells us that “McLaren is planning to claw its way back to the very top of the supercar ranks with an extended range of high-performance models, including a hi-tech successor to the legendary F1.” But be very, very quiet; they’re hunting Bugattis. “Details of the plans have been outlined to Autocar by a high-ranking official with intimate knowledge of the company’s secret business plan.” McLaren’s man in the know says that the P11 will be joined by a new F1, called the P1 (of course). And more! “The Woking firm will use its new mid-engined 430 Scuderia and Gallardo LP560-4 rival, the P11, as the springboard for the eventual introduction of a complete range of cutting-edge supercars designed, engineered and produced in the UK.” As JP said, dreamin’ just comes natural, mate.
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Gordon Murray is one of the very best automotive designers working today. If he wants to design a supercar, as the Indian chief in Blazing Saddles says, loizem gein. As much as I'm a sports car fan, I'm really more interested in the small city car Murray is developing. The economy seems to be bottoming out and when things start growing again, minimalist cars like Tata's Nano and McLaren's T25 may be where the action is.
Quote Greg Locock " I sort of take issue with his final sentence tho, you certainly can make a profit from supercars, but I don’t think it is a given." You're right Greg, I was making a very general unsupported statement. Many, if not most supercar companies are poorly run, not profitable and go bust. For example, Aston Martin has always needed a sugar-daddy to support their unprofitable business models. Conversely Porsche is amongst the most profitable car companies in the world...Ever. Like any other business, some will succeed and some will fail.
Internet flames equals unpopular? The rabid frothing of the 13-25 year old, Ferrari-flag-waving demographic doesn't really have much to do with the 35-65 demographic that's actually going to buy those cars when they come out. And Ron Dennis isn't any worse than Mr.Playboy Flavio Briatore... far from it... although Lewis does kind of look like Pinocchio...