Is McLaren Planning a Four-Seat Sports Car?

McLarens are wonderful instruments of speed for when you want to go fast, but the British supercars are less adept at transporting more than two people—unless you’re willing to part with $12 million-plus for a McLaren F1, in which case you get a third seat. However, the carmaker is now toying with expanding its iconic product line to include a four-seat McLaren.

When quizzed about a four-seat McLaren joining the lineup by Australia’s Motoring.com, Duncan Forrester, McLaren’s Global Corporate Communications Manager, didn’t rule it out. “I think we’ll play with it, but I don’t think there’s much of an appetite for a family McLaren,” he said.

To which we reply: Au contraire, sir. Plenty of manufacturers have dipped a toe into the arena of “Here’s a car for the whole family that one day might kill the whole family.” Specifically, the 640-horsepower Cadillac CTS-V, the 550-horsepower Porsche Panamera Turbo, and even the 577-horsepower Mercedes-AMG E63 S Estate. So many ponies, so many extra seats. McLaren could easily stretch out the 570S to fit two more riders, yet keeping the mid-engined monster lithe and nimble.

Or go wider, instead of longer, and perhaps revisit that roomy layout that helped make the McLaren F1 famous. That, however, does carry a risk of tarnishing the image of Gordon Murray’s iconic supercar. “That car is iconic,” Forrester said. “You’d have to look and think: How could you do that again? Do you want to do that?”

While the future of a four-seater McLaren remains murky, one thing is assured: You will never see a crossover or SUV bearing the Brits’ trademark logo. “Today, and as far into the future as we can realistically predict, customers aren’t going to be coming to McLaren and saying, ‘What I really want is one of these cars, but raised up about a foot.’” A shot across the bow of Maserati’s Levante? Perhaps. But the truth, nonetheless.