A McLaren SUV Could Happen, But It Would Cost “Millions and Millions”

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Posted by Jeff Perez 

                               

 

McLaren and SUVs mix about as well as oil and water. Just a few months earlier, in fact, McLaren execs directly shot down rumors regarding the possibility of a luxury SUV in the lineup. But did they speak a little too soon?

 

According to a new interview from Autocar—which we take with varying grains of salt—the possibility of a McLaren-branded SUV isn’t dead on arrival just yet. This is what Chief Designer Robert Melville had to say regarding the possibility:

“Over the last few years, most people at McLaren have at some point been asked about SUVs, four-seaters, motorbikes. With MSO, we did a car a few years ago that was harking back to coach building. If you come to MSO, we could sign you an all-new body, a power increase or decrease. We can design you whatever you want, if you have the money for it.”

That doesn’t mean McLaren will actually be building an SUV anytime soon. What it means, is if a customer was so inclined to spend “millions and millions of pounds,” the possibility for a bespoke SUV from McLaren Special Operations is indeed just that, a possibility.

The issue at hand being that the current McLaren architecture calls for sports cars only, and a completely new carbon fiber tub and chassis would need to be developed. Thus the “millions and millions of pounds” required.

While McLaren is adamant in staying strictly in the sports car game, with companies like Bentley and Lamborghini both putting their new SUVs on display, we suspect it’s only a matter of time before McLaren starts thinking similarly.

Image Credit: Pino Nicola Pira