The world got the news, unconfirmed by the parties involved, shortly after BMW announced they weren't interested in buying out the financially struggling British supercar team, despite providing the iconic McLaren F1's engine. Now, any chance for a reunion between the two parties some McLaren fans have been hoping for is well and truly up in smoke.
But contradicting reports this morning from a source at Autocar seemed to indicate a sale was succesful. That was until Mclaren was forced to declare said reports "wholly inaccurate". Between McLaren and its new sister company Lamborghini, Audi was purported to have become the sole proprietor of two of the most important supercar brands the world has ever known.
The implications of these two titans of the industry sharing real estate under the same corporate roof, as impactful as they may have been, are for now still in the realm of speculation. Still, Lambo's signature V12 engine suddenly feels more than a bit last week compared to the small, turbocharged V8s that find their way into most McLarens.
Furthermore, Lamborghini's Urus SUV is now by far the Italians' most successful model in the current lineup. If Lambo, of all people, deemed an SUV vital to the company's future, there's little excuse for McLaren to be exempt from the trend. The prospects of a McLaren SUV still seem inevitable at this point, but not by Audi's doing, at least yet.
As for their Formula one team, it was thought that Porsche might have been interested in using McLaren as a means to make their way into F1. In the end, it's probably Audi in the fast lane towards the most lucrative racing series in the world, assuming they can eventually make a deal. Between F1 in their sights, and their exploits at LeMans, it appears Audi is on top of the world at the moment, at least as far as motor racing is concerned.
With corporate takeovers usually comes a fresh change in management. Since Mike Flewitt, the previous McLaren CEO of eight years, left the company a short time ago, it appears in hindsight as if the move was pre-emptive in nature, as if in preparation for a false-alarm regarding the British automaker that the public was unaware of until mere hours ago. It's a brave new tomorrow for the supercar industry. Whether a new paradigm can stay together long term remains to be seen.
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