McLaren may have recently unveiled the Artura sports car and the track-focused W1 hypercar, but questions still linger about what the future holds for the legendary British brand. The company has just undergone a major shift in ownership, having been taken over by CYVN Holdings, an investment arm of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, and merged with UK-based EV startup Forseven.
What this means for McLaren long-term is still uncertain, but some clues have started to emerge. Speaking to Car Magazine in the UK, new CEO Nick Collins outlined parts of the plan, and it looks as though McLaren is preparing to stretch beyond its traditional playground of lightweight, two-seat supercars.
Collins stopped short of confirming whether an SUV is on the way, something McLaren has teased before, but he did reveal that the brand will move into what he called “adjacent segments.” Crucially, he confirmed a future model will arrive with more than two seats, which would mark a significant departure from McLaren’s history of strictly sticking to the supercar formula.
According to Collins, McLaren already has its product roadmap in place through to 2030, with preliminary designs signed off for every model due over the next several years. The brand’s new relationship with Chinese automaker Nio, in which CYVN Holdings owns a 20 per cent stake, will also play a big role, particularly when it comes to manufacturing.
For now, the finer details are still under wraps, but the direction is clear – McLaren is preparing to broaden its range and rethink what a McLaren-badged car can be. Whether that means an SUV to rival Ferrari’s Purosangue or something more unexpected, the next decade looks set to reshape one of motoring’s most famous names.
