New McLaren GT teased again

When an all-new McLaren GT is revealed at 10pm AEST next Wednesday (May 15), it will combine a softer new look with typically hard performance.

Codenamed P22 but yet to be christened, the 10th McLaren model and the fourth of 18 to come under the British supercar maker’s billion-dollar Track25 Business Plan is claimed to combine “competition levels of performance from a twin-turbo V8 engine with continent-crossing capability and a level of agility never experienced before in the luxury Grand Tourer segment”.

The ‘superlight grand tourer’ was first announced at the Geneva motor show in March, where McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt promised it will not only be the most usable mid-engined car yet, but the only GT to share its DNA with a ‘hyper-GT’ in this case the McLaren Speedtail.

Previous teaser shots confirm that won’t extend to the Speedtail’s three-seat layout, but McLaren promises its interior will be “spacious, uncluttered and modern with only authentic, high quality materials employed”.

Focussed on long-haul driving, the P22 will not be part McLaren's existing Sport, Super and Ultimate Series model families, but instead a “unique, tailored” model.

Also breaking with tradition is the newest McLaren’s styling, which as you can see from this brightened teaser image of the car’s rear-end, is slightly toned down.

There’s no sign of the aggressive aero seen on Super Series cars, or the broad LED signature of Sport Series models; but there is a pair of big round exhaust outlets below slender LED tail-lights on the understated new rear-end.

Earlier shots of a camouflaged version show the low-slung side profile is dominated by large side air scoops to feed the mid-mounted 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, which is unlikely to be electrically-assisted as in the Speedtail.

Up front, there’s traditional teardrop headlights and a long bonnet, presumably to accommodate enough luggage for overnight trips.

McLaren’s executive director of global sales and marketing Jolyon Nash told carsales.com.au in Shanghai last month that the new model will be lighter and more dynamic than GT rivals from the likes of Aston Martin, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-AMG.

“We’re going to be delivering what we think a grand tourer can be and should be – and originally was: a comfortable car you can take on long journeys [and] you can get out of it feeling that you haven’t had a hard time,” he said.

“But, it’s still dynamically able, still drives like a McLaren. Yes, it will have enough room for you to go away for a holiday in your car,” said Nash, adding that the P22 will spawn a new McLaren GT model family.

All this suggests the P22 will be conceptually more like a bigger 570GT than a development of the wild 720S, with some added Speedtail spice.

After launching its first new-generation model in 2011, McLaren sold just over 4800 cars last year – almost 45 per cent up on 2017.