What should McLaren do with it's next Supercar?


A few years ago, McLaren relaunched as an automaker with it's first car, the MP4-12C. It blew our minds away. Faster and more powerful than the Ferrari 458 (it's main rival), it quickly made it's way into the elite supercar division. Despite the unusual name, I really admired the beauty of this car, despite many people saying it looks too... scientific.

Some time later, McLaren came up with the 12C Spider, added even more power and (kinda) ordered us to call it "12C" Coupe and Spider. For some reason, I liked the design of the Spider more than the Coupe, and I'm someone who prefers Coupes to Convertibles.

Then, McLaren gave their car a mid-life refresh-along with a new name: 650S. More power and P1 inspired looks made this another beauty contest winner. Traditionally it was followed by the 650S Spider, only this time I couldn't choose between the two. Then McLaren decided to give it even more power, and shave 100kgs off it's kerb weight. The results were amazing-it was the birth of the 675LT, which is the most beautiful car they've made since the P1 in my opinion. They also followed it up with the 675LT Spider.

Now there are rumors swirling around about something called the 688HS, another limited edition, high-powered version of what is basically still the original 12C chassis. It has even more power than the 675LT and it could be the final model of this Super Series McLaren, started by the MP4-12C.

As much as I love these cars, I have to admit that a successor is coming in a year or two. So how can McLaren improve on this amazing generation of cars? How to replace something that's ending at 688PS? I think I might have the answer.

Firstly, I don't think the new car should have more power than the 675LT or 688HS, because it's just the start, with high-performance vehicles to follow.Obviously it needs more power than the 650S, which has become the norm in the industry.

Even if they do it though, more power needs to be balanced with more creature comforts too. McLaren might not have a big issue with the engine, since every McLaren has the same engine. From 540PS to 903 and beyond, this engine has become the heart and soul of the brand. Unless you're not even a bit into cars, you'll know it has a twin-turbo V8 and an electric motor. Now, if you take the electric motor off, you still have an engine with 727bhp. It's not a big deal to detune the engine to produce 700bhp and call it the "700S". They will undoubtedly bring a Spider version too, and a GT version with even more comfort is possible too. And when they think about producing high-performance variants, they can unleash all 727bhp, possibly 730, and call it "740LT".  And it won't hurt McLaren to go down the Hybrid route too, 690bhp plus an electric motor equals somewhere close to 750bhp!

Whatever McLaren does to it's next Supercar will be important because there a rumors of a mid-engined Corvette coming in 2018. And when it comes out, it is also rumored to have 700bhp. Naturally comparisons will be drawn between the two. I've always thought the horsepower wars are almost over, but there could be much in the way of surprises on their way.

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