McLaren Top Boss Hints At First-Ever SUV; And It Will Be Electric

Rumours about the McLaren SUV have been fuelled again. Based on a conversation with McLaren CEO Michael Leiters, British magazine Car claims that the process has already begun. In addition, it will be a pure electric vehicle, making it McLaren's first SUV as well as its first EV. Supposedly. Although the report says this has already happened, we have yet to hear anything official from McLaren on the matter. The various Leiters quotes in the Car story are inconclusive, talking about how the McLaren SUV might come to be, as opposed to fully confirming that it's already in the works. 

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We present the report because there is evidence to support McLaren's shift in approach to SUVs. Among other things, Leiters - who replaced Mike Flewitt at the head of the management in July 2022 - has already admitted that he is a fan of SUVs. In addition, he has remarkable experience in this segment, having worked at Porsche and most recently at Ferrari with the Cayenne and Purosangue models.

McLaren CEO Michael Leiters

And lest we forget, McLaren has already unveiled an all-electric SUV, although it won't be something you'll use for your daily shopping. In November 2021, the company took the wraps off the Extreme E - a dedicated race car that competes in the Extreme E off-road series. There are obviously some stipulations regarding this, the first being that it is obviously not a production vehicle. 

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In fact, this isn't even a preview of a possible McLaren production model, as all Extreme E vehicles share a common chassis. Even though the bodywork is a standard equipment piece, that still makes it compete in the Mclaren wheelhouse. It's no secret that expensive super SUVs have been a huge success for companies like Lamborghini or Aston Martin. Research has shown how profitable this segment can be, and with McLaren still struggling in the financial department, a performance SUV might be a must at this point.