Now that the McLaren MP4-12C is in production full force, the rumor mill is turning to what is next for McLaren. McLaren has designs on competing with Ferrari head-to-head in the future, and it is going to need to expand its lineup significantly in order to have any hope of doing that.
Few things are more British than the shooting brake, or McLaren for that matter. It is interesting though that Italian brand Ferrari is the one that has sparked a renewed interest in the classic style, thanks to the FF. That car is a unique one, and whether or not it sparks direct competition will be interesting to see. Auto Express says McLaren is now working on a “top secret” new shooting brake.
MP4-12C is currently the only model in the lineup, and AE is speculating that the new car will be based heavily on the MP4-12C. With a mid-engined configuration, doing so would be truly a radical move. And instead of taking it to the Ferrari FF, AE says the shooting brake would set it sights lower, on the Porsche 911. We’ve heard rumors before about a new McLaren line aimed at upper trim levels of the 911 such as the Turbo. As far as McLaren themselves though, they have been pretty coy about their future plans. They’ve only said they plan to release a new model each year over the next few years (mainly consisting of variants of the MP4-12C) as well as a successor to the F1.
Models up and down the range starting from the MP4-12C are a good bet. McLaren road cars have been mid-engined only. We think the new shooting brake would likely make more sense as a front-engined model that would spawn other sports cars. Sources aren’t always completely clear (and AE doesn’t have the best track record…) so we’re going to have to wait this out until we get a clearer picture of what is to come. For now, all we can do is wait to see what McLaren’s next move is. The most exciting thing right now in the works at McLaren is an F1 successor. Bring back the three-seat driving configuration, please!
