McLaren Automotive’s expansion efforts are going full-steam ahead. The British supercar company is reporting increased profits after a successful 2013 sales year, and the cash will apparently be reinvested into developing at least two new super-performance sports cars.
McLaren began its independent production car push with the launch of the 2012 McLaren 12C, which has since been discontinued in favor of the recently introduced 650S. The limited-production McLaren P1 went on sale earlier this year, with all 375 vehicles selling out within six months.
Chief among McLaren’s future lineup is the now-confirmed P13 sports car, which puts Porsche’s 911 Turbo right in between McLaren’s crosshairs. McLaren claims that the P13 will be a more accessible among the existing supercar lineup, in terms of both price and usability. As we’ve reported in the past, the codenamed McLaren P13 will be a mid-engine two-seater built on a fully carbon fiber tub. The engine is rumored to be a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 making 450-500 hp, although a turbo V-6 is also a possibility later in the car’s lifecycle.
We expect both roadster and hardtop variants to arrive simultaneously when the P13 is introduced toward the end of 2015, just as the McLaren 650S coupe and Spider arrived at the same time earlier in 2014.
At the opposite side of the spectrum, McLaren will build a small number of track-only McLaren P1 models exclusively for existing P1 owners. The company claims it will be the brand’s rarest and most powerful model, which means we’ll see a power bump beyond the already absurd 903 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque from the P1’s plug-in hybrid, 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 powertrain. Without the need to meet street car regulations and demands for day-to-day passenger comfort, McLaren will likely strip down the P1 interior and revise the body for even more slippery aerodynamics and weight reduction.
McLaren is standing by its promise to unveil a new car or variant every year, giving credence to rumors that we might also see a mid-level P15 model to slot in between the McLaren 650S and the $1,150,000 P1. While the P13 is expected to begin at about $200,000, and the 650S coupe costs $265,500, the P15 would jump up to around $660,000 and use a mid-engine turbo setup.
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