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McLaren looks to Asia and hybrid cars as next steps toward IPO

DETROIT — British exotic sports car maker McLaren Automotive will bank on expanded sales in Asia and a new generation of hybrid cars as it steers toward a potential public offering, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday. "We need to put more cars into Asia," McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt said in a meeting with reporters in Detroit. Sales of McLaren's carbon fibre and aluminium sports cars, which start at about $200,000 in the United States, have fallen in the United Kingdom, its largest market. Flewitt said that reflects uncertainty over Brexit. Demand in the United States and in Asian markets outside of China remains strong, he said. McLaren plans to open dealerships in Vietnam and the Philippines, Flewitt said. "The next big ones are India and Russia. We're not in either and probably should be." Flewitt has said in the past that the owners of the McLaren Group, led by Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund, are considering an initial public offering by 2025. An IPO will likely come after all parts of the group, including McLaren Racing and a unit that markets technology, are generating cash, he said on Tuesday. Exotic sports car makers have a mixed record on public markets. Ferrari NV <RACE.MI> has been one of the auto sector's best-performing stocks, up 68% this year. However, British premium sports car maker Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings <AML.L> has suffered a 59% decline. McLaren sold about 4,800 cars in 2018, and is on track for a slightly lower number in 2019, Flewitt said. An important piece of McLaren's expansion strategy will be unveiled next spring — a hybrid car with a new architecture under the skin. However, McLaren does not plan to follow its rivals into the SUV market. "We couldn't afford to do it," Flewitt said, adding, "it just doesn't fit the brand." By 2024, McLaren will have additional production capacity coming online to increase sales to 6,000 cars a year — if the company can hit that volume without sacrificing profit margins, Flewitt said. Profitability plays a role in McLaren's decision, so far, not to develop an all-electric car, Flewitt said. Eventually, the super car niche will go electric, but for McLaren that will have to wait for lighter, lower-cost, solid-state batteries to be ready for commercial use, he said. "Nobody is out there making money with electric cars," he said. "We can do what we need to do with hybrids." Green McLaren Performance

McLaren P1 squares off against Porsche 918 in Evo track battle

Evo's side-by-side comparison of the McLaren P1 against the Porsche 918 Spyder isn't the first time we've seen England and Germany's ultimate automotive weapons sized up together; last month, Autocar tested them over the standing mile, with a Ducati 1199 Superleggera playing the joker. Evo throws a few curves at its test, though, taking the supercars to Anglesey Circuit in Wales to see which will lay down the fastest lap time with scribe Jethro Bovington at the wheel. In case the numbers haven't yet been seared into your memory, while both are assisted by electric motors, the 3,069-pound, rear-wheel drive P1 gets on with 903 horsepower and 664 pound-feet from a 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V8. The 3,750-pound, all-wheel-drive 918 Spyder does its job with 795 hp and 575 lb-ft surging out of a naturally aspirated, 4.6-liter V8. We're not told know which circuit layout he uses for the test, but both cars comfortably eclipse the mark set by the fastest coupe Evo's driven around it so far, the Ferrari 458 Speciale. Then, in an epilogue occasioned by a tire change, one of the supercars comfortably eclipses its own time again, before Bovington declares one the master of the track and the other the ruler of the street. Enjoy finding out which is which in the video above.

New McLaren hybrid hypercar will be company's fastest ever

We've reported earlier that the upcoming McLaren Ultimate Series "Hyper-GT" BP23 will be a seriously fast machine. Today, McLaren set a top speed target for it: The limited-edition hybrid hypercar will surpass the legendary McLaren F1 from the 1990s. That car reached the top speed of 243 mph, or 391 km/h; it appears the manufacturer wants the new car to hit or exceed 400 km/h. Maybe it'll even top 250 mph. The indicated 243 mph speed illustrated in the teaser sketch is a nice touch. The BP23 will hit the highest top speed of any McLaren yet. It will feature nods to the original McLaren F1 in several ways, including the centrally mounted driver seat flanked with passenger seats. That 106-unit production run also refers to the original F1 road car's sales figure. The finished vehicles will all be done to any specific customer's taste, as they will be seen through by McLaren's Special Operations division. McLaren is still keeping a few surprises to itself, as the actual top speed along with the BP23's actual name will be revealed closer to the car's unveiling. McLaren also hints the name will be something more special "rather than an alphanumeric nomenclature." This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Related Video: Featured Gallery McLaren Ultimate Series BP23 Image Credit: McLaren Automotive Green McLaren Coupe Future Vehicles Hybrid Performance mclaren automotive mclaren bp23 mclaren hybrid