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Rumor Claims that BMW and McLaren Are Working on a New Supercar

The last time BMW worked with McLaren great things happened, namely the iconic McLaren F1 came out, the world’s first hypercar according to some. Decades later McLaren barely managed to launch a successor for that initial world-record breaking machine in the shape of the P1. Could the two be working together again?
BMW - McLaren Supercar rendering 1 photo
Photo: Andrei Arvarii
Judging by the success of the F1, they definitely should and, if we’re to believe CAR Magazine, they are already doing it. The British publication claims that the Brits and Germans have joined forced once again to bring out a supercar under the blue and white colors.

That’s right, if you were waiting for BMW to finally launch a supercar, this is the right time to rejoice. At the moment, we’re a bit skeptic about the whole thing, though, so don’t go too far with the celebrations just yet.

That’s because CAR Magazine is notorious for issuing such unbelievable claims and rarely have they come true. However, the case they are building does make sense this time.

A shared supercar

It seems like, these days, developing a project in conjunction with other manufacturers seems like the right way to do things. BMW is developing the successor of the Z4 with Toyota and from it more than one car will emerge, under both BMW and the Japanese’s logos. Some say that this will bring out the new Supra as well, but we’ll have to wait and see exactly what the two giants have to offer.

The same recipe will be used for the supercar. McLaren will be providing the chassis and body of the car, both made of the lightest materials around (including carbon fiber) while BMW will be in charge of developing the other bits, such as the engine, gearbox, electronics and interior as well as some of the exterior.

This joint endeavor should spawn two cars, one of them being the P16 project, McLaren’s next supercar. They will be sharing just the chassis and body, though, as everything else will be different.

The engine will be BMW M division built and claims say that it will be brand new, a 4-liter V8 with no less than four turbochargers. Two will be classical, exhaust driven models while the other two will be electrical to reduce lag to a minimum. The output is claimed to be around 750 HP.

Mid-engined with a different look

As we said, the two will be sharing key parts but they will also be different. BMW’s product will have its own exterior design, one that will follow the brand’s trademark features.

The engine will be positioned centrally, making this a true mid-engined supercar. With the weight factor kept in check by the light body, this should prove to be a really enjoyable car to drive as balance should be one of its strengths.

What wrong with this plan?

As good as all of this sounds, there are a few parts that are still a bit shady, to say the least. If BMW invested over €2 billion in putting together the i sub-division and its CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) production plant, why would they turn to McLaren to build their chassis?

The whole point of making the Moses Lake facility a reality was so that BMW would have access to cheap CFRP that would be used in mass production later on. Paying McLaren to build the bodies of its supercar doesn’t actually make sense.

Sure, the Brits would already have the assembly lines working, relieving BMW of the burden of making its own but still, something’s not right here.

Furthermore, it is difficult to imagine a future supercar without the usage of a hybrid powertrain considering the age we live in. Since this is rumored to come out close to 2020, that’s an ever harder to believe scenario.

It would make more sense to have the car use a 3-liter inline 6-cylinder engine with one or two electric motors for the front axle, but maybe that’s just what we believe at the moment. Truth be told, we would love to see a 4-liter V8 from BMW making a comeback.
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