Photo: McLaren
We don’t know how it’s called even though McLaren has recently filed a trademark with the USPTO for Sabre. The second generation of Sports Series supercars was expected to roll out in 2020 for the 2021 model year, but due to the global health crisis, the British automaker postponed the launch to 2021 for the 2022 model year.
“What’s up with the carbon-fiber tub in the main photo?” That, ladies and gentlemen, is an all-new vehicle architecture “which will underpin the next generation of electrified supercars” according to McLaren. Developed to accommodate “hybrid powertrains” that include PHEV applications with e-AWD, the platform has been engineered at the McLaren Composites Technology Center.
World-first processes and techniques “strip out excess mass” without compromising the torsional rigidity of the chassis, and chief executive officer Mike Flewitt is obviously proud of the know-how that went into this fellow here. “The new ground-breaking vehicle architecture is every bit as revolutionary as the MonoCell chassis we introduced with the company’s first car, the 12C, when we first embarked on making production vehicles a decade ago,” declared the head honcho of McLaren.
Flewitt has also mentioned a transition to 100 percent electrified supercars, but don’t get your hopes up for EVs in the near future. McLaren touched on this subject in the past, claiming that battery technology has a long way to go until it becomes viable for the British automaker. The most obvious culprit, of course, is the weight.
As for the design of the Sports Series Gen 2, a validation prototype and a few test mules such as MV614 have left little for us to speculate. The 3D rendering in the digital instrument cluster of VP628 shows 720S influences for the front fascia, side profile, and even the rear deck of the mid-engine supercar with plug-in assistance.
As opposed to the 570S, the successor features a charging port on the left-hand rear fender while the fuel filler cap stays put on the right. Speaking of the outgoing model, McLaren will also downsize from 3.8 liters and eight cylinders to a twin-turbo V6 with a yet-to-be-confirmed displacement. Considering that Maserati cranks out more than 600 horsepower from 3.0 liters without any kind of electrification, you can bet your sweet bippy that McLaren won’t disappoint at all.
Oh, and by the way, 20 miles of EV range are reportedly possible.
World-first processes and techniques “strip out excess mass” without compromising the torsional rigidity of the chassis, and chief executive officer Mike Flewitt is obviously proud of the know-how that went into this fellow here. “The new ground-breaking vehicle architecture is every bit as revolutionary as the MonoCell chassis we introduced with the company’s first car, the 12C, when we first embarked on making production vehicles a decade ago,” declared the head honcho of McLaren.
Flewitt has also mentioned a transition to 100 percent electrified supercars, but don’t get your hopes up for EVs in the near future. McLaren touched on this subject in the past, claiming that battery technology has a long way to go until it becomes viable for the British automaker. The most obvious culprit, of course, is the weight.
As for the design of the Sports Series Gen 2, a validation prototype and a few test mules such as MV614 have left little for us to speculate. The 3D rendering in the digital instrument cluster of VP628 shows 720S influences for the front fascia, side profile, and even the rear deck of the mid-engine supercar with plug-in assistance.
As opposed to the 570S, the successor features a charging port on the left-hand rear fender while the fuel filler cap stays put on the right. Speaking of the outgoing model, McLaren will also downsize from 3.8 liters and eight cylinders to a twin-turbo V6 with a yet-to-be-confirmed displacement. Considering that Maserati cranks out more than 600 horsepower from 3.0 liters without any kind of electrification, you can bet your sweet bippy that McLaren won’t disappoint at all.
Oh, and by the way, 20 miles of EV range are reportedly possible.
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