After Lotus, Italian supercar makers have another British contender challenging their supremacy. McLaren is the most successful team in Formula 1 after Ferrari, and yesterday opened its first dealership in the most prestigious part of London.
According to a news report from Bloomberg, the British automaker has much broader plans: its managing director, Antony Sheriff, revealed in an interview that McLaren Automotive intends to spend as much as $1 billion in developing and marketing costs to launch 13 new models and variants in the following years to challenge the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini.
“I see it as a fantastic challenge to come to the market with a new brand” said Executive Chairman Ron Dennis in Bloomberg Television late last night.
McLaren has already invested about $320 million to develop its 458 Italia challenger, the $200,000 MP4-12C and last month unveiled its $500,000 racing counterpart. The street-legal version of the MP4-12C, which at this point is McLaren’s sole production car, has already proven to be a hit, with more than 2,000 orders and a two-year waiting list.
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