NEW YORK MOTOR SHOW: McLaren rules out SUV, smaller sports car

McLaren has ruled out following its competitors into either the SUV or compact sports car markets, dismissing suggestions it could produce models like the Porsche Cayenne, Macan, Cayman or Boxster.

“I can categorically say there will be no McLaren SUV,” said Jolyon Nash, McLaren Automotive’s executive director of global sales and marketing, at the New York motor show, where the British supercar maker debuted its new 'Sports Series' 570S super-coupe.

Additionally, global PR manager Dave Eden told motoring.com.au that there’s no current plan for introducing a smaller, Cayman-style McLaren.

“The 540S will be the entry-point for the foreseeable future," he said.

With the 570S debuting the Sports Series, McLaren now has three distinct model lines: Sports Series (the 570S and the cheaper, less powerful 540C to be revealed in China later this month), Super Series (650S and derivatives) and Ultra Series (P1).

It is these three ‘families’ that McLaren intends to stick with as it aims to more than double sales by 2017.

“There will be changes within those lines, but they are set and what we will be moving forward with,” said Nash.

It is expected that the 540S will also be the volume-seller. The ‘C’ (for Club) nomenclature follows on from the Chinese-market 625C, essentially a lower-powered 650S that has been met with enthusiasm in an emerging market for McLaren.

Similarly, the slightly less powerful 540C – which Eden said will be rolled out to other Asia-Pacific countries and “made available globally” -- will be priced lower than the 419kW 570S.

McLaren has announced UK pricing for its new Sport Series range will start at £126,000 ($A230,000) when the 397kW 540C Coupe goes on sale later this year, while the 570S will cost £143,250 ($A260,000) in Britain.

So far only the 570S has been confirmed for Australia early next year, but it’s not yet known how much it will cost once local taxes and tariffs are added.

However, both Sports Series models are expected to be priced below the cheapest existing McLaren, the superseded $398,000 MP4-12C – perhaps positioned either side the Porsche 911 Turbo (from $366,500).

Weighing in at just 1313kg, McLaren claims the 570S will deliver a class-leading power-to-weight ratio and performance to match, including 0-100km/h acceleration in 3.2 seconds and 0-200km/h acceleration in just 9.5 seconds.

Since its 2011 debut, McLaren Automotive Group has been a solid success story, turning its first pre-tax profit of £4.5 million in 2013 (around $A7.2 million at the time) and remaining profitable ever since.

Nash said it was this profitability that drives the expansion plans of the relatively small British car-maker, which employs 1400 staff.

“It’s because we are profitable that we can invest in new product," he said. "We are a well-structured business with, relative to other parts of the industry, a lower cost base."

Nash is understandably proud of the brand’s independence, which avoids the layers of bureaucracy that exist at many of it corporation-owned competition. He cited a high level of internal innovation – as well as solid technical supplier relationships – as a key to moving quickly and keeping costs down.

“We’re very lean. We’re very entrepreneurial. I think a lot of cost in the automotive industry comes with time. Things take a long time to happen and when that happens costs go up, so we aim to move quickly,” said Nash.

McLaren's automotive arm is separate from its racing business, but Nash stressed there is a "cascade of technology coming from the race cars”.

There’s also no doubting the McLaren racing mystique has rubbed off on the road car division’s popularity as it aims for 4000 sales in 2017 – up from just 1649 last year, including 26 in Australia.

“Of course, it [McLaren’s race team] is a critical factor in our success [in driving the road-car division’s road to profitability]. McLaren has a long, rich history and it’s rooted in racing. It’s all part of the McLaren brand, but we are independent businesses and we intend to stay that way.”