McLaren Says No to an SUV

Don't expect McLaren to join Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Aston in the exotic SUV game anytime soon.
www.thedrive.com

Share

Despite McLaren’s plans to introduce 12 new models within the next four years, don’t expect any of them to be crossovers. 

Speaking to Top Gear, McLaren chief designer Dan Parry-Williams said, “I’m not the first person to point out an SUV is neither particularly sporty or utilitarian.” Referencing the company’s purpose-driven, function-over-form ethos, Parry-Williams cheekily adds, “It’s not ‘everything for a reason,’ unless the reason is to clutter up the streets.”

While we’d like to say that news of an exotic supercar maker such as McLaren refusing to do a high-riding, offspring-ferrying crossover shouldn’t come as a surprise, that just isn’t the case anymore. With the introduction of the Lamborghini Urus, the Aston Martin DBX’s imminent arrival, and plans for an “FUV” from Ferrari, pretty much all of McLaren’s competitive peers have some kind of SUV either in its lineup or forthcoming.

Top Gear points out that all 12 of McLaren’s upcoming cars fit into one of the brand’s three product lines: The entry-level Sports Series that encompasses the 570S and its variants, the Super Series headed by the 720S, and the top-of-the-line Ultimate Series that houses the brand’s craziest machines in the P1, Senna, and upcoming BP23 three-seater. Until Macca decides to throw a Utility Series into the mix, there doesn’t look like there’s room for any British, carbon-laden Urus killers here (thankfully). The company seems to be doing just fine without one.