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McLaren Boss: “Hybrid Design Is Part Of The Next Platform”

Remember the Track22 business plan released by McLaren Automotive in 2016? The British automaker’s chief executive officer has spilled a little bit more of the beans on what to expect in the coming years, and following the successor of the 570S, “each subsequent replacement will use a hybrid powertrain.”
McLaren P1 Concept 38 photos
Photo: McLaren
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The next-generation Sports Series will ride on an evolution of the Monocell II platform, while the all-new Super Series is going official in 2022. Hybrid design is part of the next platform - it is designed from day one rather than having to adapt an existing chassis,” said Mike Flewitt.

He confirmed to Autocar the hybrid powertrain will be standard for the core model ranges (such as the successor of the 720S), with unassisted internal combustion scheduled to become a thing of the past for McLaren. There will be exceptions to the rule through the Ultimate Series, albeit the Senna is twin-turbocharged and the BP23 Hyper-GT will be electrified.

There’s also talk of a twin-turbocharged V6 for the Sports and Super lineups, though the electrification should help with straight-line performance and on the track. On that bombshell, Flewitt further made the suggestion that autonomous driving is coming to McLaren Automotive.

“We will be selective [with the technology],” he said. “Autonomy in its own right isn’t that appealing to our customers, but we need to have capabilities designed in for safety, legislation, and emissions,” added Flewitt. It’s safe to say that McLaren Automotive isn’t gunning for Tesla levels of self-driving technology, but on the other hand, the British automaker doesn’t intend to sit idly. Watching the competition get ahead is not an option.

On that note, McLaren is working on a battery-powered electric powertrain that could serve as the means of propulsion for the heir-apparent of the P1. The engineers are working on a one-off prototype since 2016, though spy photos of the e-hypercar have yet to be snapped.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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