McLaren’s new GT car will be a junior Speedtail

The subject of a surprise announcement at the Geneva Motor Show this week, the so-far unnamed car will stick to McLaren’s performance focus but, in a nod to growing demand for SUV-style practicality, will have more flexible luggage room… including space for golf clubs.

It will sit outside Woking’s Sports, Super and Ultimate Series models as the first of what’s likely to become a new range of GT Series cars, spurred on by the success of the 570GT, McLaren’s “softest” and most practical car so far.

McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt said that as McLaren’s interpretation of a grand tourer the car would “combine  competition levels of performance with continent-crossing capability, wrapped in a beautiful lightweight body.

“It’s a car that has been designed for distance and one that will also provide the comfort and space expected of a Grand Tourer. But with a level of agility never experienced before in this segment. In addition, it will be the lightest of Grand Tourers and by also having the best power-to-weight ratio, I promise it will be one of the quickest.

“In addition, it will be the only Grand Tourer to share its DNA with the 250mph McLaren Speedtail.”

Taking the 570GT layout, with its side-opening rear hatch, several stages further, the new car will be based on McLaren’s familiar carbon tub, mid-engined layout but with all-new rear bodywork, emulating the extended teardrop cabin of the ultra-expensive and exclusive Speedtail. Some sort of lift-up tailgate is assured, making it more of a three-door than any McLaren before it. McLaren’s promise is that it will be “the most usable mid-engined car yet.” 

Unlike the three-seat Speedtail, the cabin will have two seats. As for the powertrain, it’s likely to be the twin-turbo V8 we’ve become so used to from McLaren but odds on it will have some form of electrification for emissions-free driving through cities.

McLaren has long eschewed the rush to high-riding cars, making it now the only manufacturer without an SUV-style vehicle in the range already, or being worked on. It is thought, however, that the 570GT showed clear demand for a more practical McLaren, encouraging the company to design the new GT.