Electric McLaren P1 to favour light weight over epic power

The long-awaited, all-new replacement for the McLaren P1 will switch to an advanced battery-electric powertrain when it lands by the end of this decade, the British supercar marque has finally revealed.

Rumours have been rife that the successor to the McLaren P1, which was produced from 2013 until late 2015, would be battery-powered, however behind the scenes McLaren has reportedly been reluctant to embrace the technology because of the weight penalty brought with a large battery.

That explains why the Senna, Speedtail, Elva and Solus GT (pictured) family of hypercars that followed the P1 have featured either combustion or hybrid power, but now McLaren’s new CEO Michael Leiters has confirmed a zero-emissions rival to the production Porsche Mission X is on the way.

In a report published by British outlet Autocar, Leiters not only confirmed the electric P1 replacement but said over the next five years the volume share of pure-electric McLarens will grow from zero today to an incredible 90 per cent of all sales by 2028.

Tipped to land by 2030, Leiters said in the short-term McLaren was still “not sure” on using current electric powertrains for supercars.

“The main reason for that is weight. We don’t want to make a car that is 2000kg and 2000hp – anybody can do that. That’s not in the DNA of McLaren,” he said.

“We want to make a car that is comparable to the 750 weight-wise; we don’t need 2000hp. We’re working on concepts for that, we’re exploring that and we have really exciting ideas around that. But it has to outperform what we do on an ICE.”

As well as straight-line acceleration, Leiters is keen to ensure that any McLaren EV supercar will handle and have agility that surpasses its current line-up.

McLaren will also develop its EV tech to be exciting to drive, with the first production models ready “maybe at the end of this decade”.

Like the original 2013 McLaren P1, which featured a state-of-the-art plug-in hybrid powertrain, the new McLaren EV will debut the car-maker’s flagship strategy.

Leiters: “In general, I think the best way to introduce a new technology is top down.”

That suggests the next P1 will feature pioneering tech that will then be used on the future replacement for the Artura or 750S.

Making the timing especially difficult for the McLaren boss is the next-generation McLaren EVs are being developed with little or no demand from existing customers.

“Times are changing and we have to prepare for new times. The success of the 750S shows our customers love ICE cars, but maybe there are other customers and they’re interested in other stuff,” he said.

Leiters said he supports EU proposals to allow cars to be powered by e-fuels and is sceptical just one technology will be capable of ushering in a zero-emissions future.

“For a use case like we have, low volume and low mileage, you have to invest so much in the emissions in the production of an electric vehicle. How can we recover that in our lifecycle? It doesn’t make sense, right?” he said.

“So I think it’s very important to always consider the environment and the circumstances in which you are making decisions.”

In the meantime, to bridge the gap between combustion and full-electric power, McLaren is working with engine supplier Ricardo to develop a new generation of hybrid V8 engines that will be powerful and lightweight.

There’s no word on what car will be first to receive the all-new electrified V8 but it’s been tipped a successor for the 400km/h Speedtail hyper-GT could be on the cards.

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