When it comes to innovation and launching electrified supercars, the folks at McLaren are no strangers to the challenge. The recently launched P1 and Speedtail are two recent examples of this recent push towards electrification. But the British supercar maker has revealed that it’s taking things up a degree by creating an all new lightweight vehicle platform with electrification and innovative technology being the two top priorities for the new platform.
McLaren also revealed that the first model to take advantage of this platform will make its appearance sometime in 2021, but stopped far short of revealing any critical information about the car. For those that are worried about the platform adding too much weight, the company revealed that the new underpinnings use even more carbon fiber to help save weight, while also making vehicles on this platform even safer than the company’s current crop of supercar offerings. McLaren did not go into the formal specifics of how it crafts the new underpinnings, but the company did reveal that the architecture relies on “innovative, world-first processes and techniques to strip out excess mass, reduce overall vehicle weight, while also further improving safety attributes.”
The upcoming hybrid supercar is only the opening act for this platform, with the company revealing that it was also engineered to have an impressive degree of flexibility. This means that it will ultimately find its way into other models that will be coming to the company’s model lineup during its second decade of formal vehicle production. This would be a big step up from the original MonoCell platform that made its debut back in 2010 on the McLaren MP4-12C with the new unnamed platform having “greater structural integrity and higher levels of quality,” according to McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt. He also went on to state that the platform would pave the way for the eventual arrival of the brand’s first pure electric offering, though he did not reveal when such a model would be launched.
Leading the charge would be a replacement for the aging but still very potent 570S. That particular model has been spotted undergoing aggressive shakedown testing as part of its development process, and rumors appear to suggest that it will pitch the current V8 in lieu of a twin-turbocharged V6. This smaller powerplant would be a good opportunity to test out a potential new generation hybrid system, but nothing is set in stone at this point.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.