McLaren says that the company is working on the powertrain for an electric supercar along with gas-powered cars, not as a straight replacement. “As a company, we need to be prepared,” says CEO Michael Leiters as the future draws near. The goal right now is to make it as powerful as a plug-in hybrid while also being as light. There are few fully electric luxury sports cars on the market yet, and only a few are being bought by the very wealthy. Rimac admitted last month that the planned 150 units of the Nevera were not sold, and it is unlikely that any new car will be completely electric. McLaren still thinks it can do better, though. The main picture in the story is an old teaser for the BP23 hybrid hypercar, but McLaren CEO Michael Leiters told Invoice Pricing new things about what to expect from an electric racecar. Leiters told us last month, when we talked about the company’s future, that “We are currently developing a fully electric drivetrain.” This is the only EV racecar that should ever be made. I am sure that the first electric racecar will be a McLaren. “If we can’t make supercars, no one else can,” they said. Leiters concur that more and more McLaren customers want all-electric cars, even though many do not actually ask for them. The V-6 plug-in hybrid Artura Spider will be delivered later this year, and the company has no plans to stop making cars with gas engines. The next-generation 750S will have a more powerful V-8 plug-in engine, and it will probably be a high-end halo car like the P1. Work is being done on the EV at the same time. “As a business, we need to be ready,” says Leiters. “What would happen if the market changed one day and most buyers wanted these cars?” It depends on the properties. It might work if you make a product that people want to buy. Leiters says technology has big problems, especially since he is sure that McLaren will not only make cars with a lot of power but also make them work better. We must recognize that technology is still immature. Weight and other factors are the key reasons. McLaren’s main goal is to cut weight, and we can’t give that up. Second, the range is short when driving on a track, which is how a McLaren should be. This is true in general and in this case in particular. We don’t want to make the car heavier by using a bigger battery to make up for it. Leiters has set the goal of making an electric supercar that is as light as possible compared to one of the company’s present models. According to him, a supercar that weighs two tons is not a supercar. Increasing power allows easier performance. This accelerates long-term success. A more important question is what the side performance is. “You can’t deliver if the weight is too heavy.” How close could a McLaren electric car (EV) be in weight to the 3300-pound plug-in Artura? The statement made by Leiter is, “Very close, very close indeed.” It is the objective here.
