McLaren Confirms SUVs Aren't for Supercar Manufacturers

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Let’s take a moment to consider how ubiquitous sport utility vehicles and crossovers have become. They are, quite literally, everywhere, and reason for this is that they’ve morphed into a jack-of-all-trades type of automobile.

The antiquated definition of SUV included words like “rugged” and “off-road.” But modern examples really only need to ride higher than your typical sedan to qualify. That, along with the segment’s current trendiness, has helped to make such vehicles exceeding popular. So popular, in fact, that practically every automaker is trying to build one to improve sales.

This includes supercar manufacturers. Lamborghini intentionally priced the Urus as an “entry-level” model to ensure volume — and you had better believe Aston Martin and Ferrari will do the same with their upcoming crossovers. Porsche has two SUVs and the more-affordable Macan became its best-selling model last year. However, there is one performance brand that says it has no place for such a vehicle: McLaren.

“I’m not the first person to point out an SUV is neither particularly sporty or utilitarian,” McLaren’s chief designer, Dan Parry-Williams, told Top Gear in a recent interview.

The U.K.-based company says it intends to maintain a performance-driven strategy through 2022. It is dumping over £1 billion into the research and development of 12 new models, but not a single one will be an SUV. Why? Because McLaren says the very concept of a sport utility vehicle clashes with the brand’s motto of “everything for a reason.”

“It’s not ‘everything for a reason,’ unless the reason is to clutter up the streets,” Parry-Williams explained in a rather savage burn.

While McLaren could always change its mind, like Ferrari did, it won’t be able to until after 2022. Executives have confirmed all planned models will use platforms that would make building a crossover next to impossible.

[Image: McLaren]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • El scotto El scotto on Jan 20, 2018

    You can't make a "brick on Popsicle sticks" a cornering demon. Looking at you, Ferrari,Porsche, and Maserati. A Bentley SUV? A bald cash grab. Add Mercedes to that column too. BMW X series? Reference "brick on Popsicle sticks" as you try to justify "superior handling". OK, I don't like the X series, not a bit. Cadillac/Lincoln/Lexus? Leather wrapped heated/cooled seats varieties of their GM/FORD/Toyota brothers. Their lesser sibling were built to be SUV's; haul boats, carry dogs and/or shotguns. Most of us are fine with that. McLaren understands supercars; ergo no SUV. Morgan might build you a shooting brake. No, it won't have a lift kit. It might come with Purdy or Holland and Holland shotguns.

  • Flipper35 Flipper35 on Jan 22, 2018

    Mercedes has always had some utility and the cars - other than the AMG branded cars - were never performance driving machines. They were good at getting from a to b in comfort but not really grin inducing on a curvy road. BMW no longer cares to be the "ultimate driving machine" as they have moved consistently more Mercedes like in the last two decades. SUVs fit right in at Bentley since they have always made big cars for people to be driven in so why not a sport utility? Lamborghini is the outrageous brand and if they can't recreate the outrageousness of the LM-002 then they shouldn't be building one. Jeep, LR and such making high performance road going SUVs is a pure mee too money grab.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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