McLaren To Launch 14 New Models In The Next 5 Years

McLaren isn’t resting on its laurels these days – not on the race track (where it’s long since fallen off its previous winning form), and not off it, either.

The automotive division is in the midst of its Track22 business plan to reshape its position in the market. And that includes a rather ambitious target of launching 14 new models or derivatives within the next five years.

That might not seem like a lot for an automaker like, say, Mercedes, to which McLaren was long tied. But the enterprise based in Woking is a much smaller and more specialized one, with only three model lines designed around common building blocks.

The British firm recently launched the new 720S, its first second-generation model and the newest evolution in its core Super Series – which itself will yield several new derivatives. If the 650S (which it replaces) is anything to go by, we can expect a detuned version for key markets (to replace the 640C), a Spider convertible, a more extreme variant (to succeed the 675LT), and a Spider version thereof. That’s five already.

The lower-level Sports Series has already bread four variants – 540C, 570S, and 570GT – and is still slated to yield a Spider convertible as well. Within the next few years, though, we can expect for that entire family to be replaced – potentially using a V6 hybrid powertrain – yielding at least as many models again. Now we’re up to eleven.

Add to those the forthcoming BP23 as the next addition to the Ultimate Series and we’re up to twelve by our count. Allow another couple of curveballs as McLaren is bound to throw in there and we have our road map for the ambitious expansion of its model line, enabled by the opening of its new chassis construction facility in Sheffield.

The updated plans were disclosed in the announcement of Jens Ludmann’s appointment as McLaren Automotive’s new Chief Operating Officer. The role was previously filled by Mike Flewitt – until he was promoted to CEO in the wake of managing director Antony Sheriff’s departure – and has been left vacant until now. Ludmann previously served as chief product development engineer at Ford and CTO at Qoros. He’ll now be responsible for overseeing product development, manufacturing, and purchasing the company implements its ambitious plans.