Goodbye Artura, Hello SUV

[12pack]

. Though I suppose UK manufacturing investment is always good news.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a73761528/mclare...

[CharlesElliott]

Seems likely that the Artura (and particularly the Spider) will end up being one of the rarest McLaren production cars and rarer than some of the LTs.

Having said that, I really can't see a McLaren SUV being successful. Not many people buy McLaren sports cars, not sure they would buy an SUV over a Urus or Ferrari. SUVs haven't really worked out for Aston Martin.

[Vsix and Vtec]

Not sure how to feel about this. I love their sports cars, and if I was able to afford any, would gladly own one. I'm glad they're getting investments, as it means the brand lives on, but the whole SUV market leaves me cold.

[Zorbathegreek]

Building their own engine is risky business. It killed TVR.

[Grey_Area]

Zorbathegreek said:

Building their own engine is risky business. It killed TVR.

Surely some crossover of tech from F1 or similar in their back catalogue would help negate the TVR debacle...

[Zorbathegreek]

Grey_Area said:

Surely some crossover of tech from F1 or similar in their back catalogue would help negate the TVR debacle...

I don’t think the TVR debacle (leading up to when they went bust) was much to do with tech, but more to do with wrong timing to develop their own engine. The R&D costs would have been horrendous. The Speed 6 engine had its issues, which didn’t help the brand.
There’s a lot going on in the world. Fuel costs are rising in the US (main McLaren market I think) and import tariffs on vehicles, conflict in middle-east (McLaren owner resides there). I’m no expert on these matters but it doesn’t seem a good time to be throwing money into engine manufacturing and/or a frivolous and unnecessary luxury brand. I’m old enough to remember the 70’s & 80’s when oil prices and middle-east unrest caused a lot of angst amongst car manufacturers. I wish McLaren the best. It just seems a rather risky time to be doing, what they are doing.

[samoht]

Car and Driver said:

The Artura was the brand’s first plug-in hybrid and aimed to signal a new future for the brand, but the move from a V-8 in its predecessor, the 570S, to a V-6 hybrid, and the underwhelming styling also contributed to slower sales than expected, the dealer told AN. The Artura is set to be replaced by a new mid-engined model, codenamed P34, which should arrive by the end of 2027. While it is expected to continue with a twin-turbo V-6 hybrid setup, reports put the power output at around 800 horsepower, with a more upscale cabin and a dramatic design that references the iconic McLaren F1.

The styling is something I've felt since the Artura arrived. The 570 presents visually as a full-on supercar. I think at the time McLaren struggled to make the case for the 650S, since people perceived the fresher, cheaper car as just as good.

So then with the Artura I feel they were very careful to style it to look like a sports car, not a supercar. The surfacing looks quite similar to the Emira, for instance. But then it hasn't been as popular in the marketplace, despite being of course quicker and more capable than its predecessor.

Of course there were many other issues as the article mentions, but the styling is perhaps the most self-inflicted.

[targarama]

Porsche had to make SUVs to enable them to make enough money to built sports cars, they sell lots of SUVs in the USA. It works for them. I don't think the UK is a primary market for a Mclaren SUV. Maybe Mclaren will base the car on a Mercedes SUV? (like the Porsches are VAG-based).

Would I buy one? No. Same as I would not buy a RR SVR, Aston thingy, big expensive Cayenne (and the Urus is too chavvy to even enter the comparison). I drive a Lexus RX Hybrid for my daily, which does the SUV thing better than any others. I will replace it with a newer one when it eventually breaks. I can understand something like an RS6 or E class being a sporting estate, but no point with an SUV. But as I said, target market is USA.

I hope Mclaren does well, I will get another (sports car not SUV) one day soon.