SUV or crossover: McLaren is looking for more profit

They’ve been struggling to turn a profit at McLaren for some time. And only one body shape can prevent that: the SUV. Like Aston Martin and MG, among others, are trying to do.

An SUV or crossover is often viewed as a ‘salvation for a brand’, and not entirely without reason. Super SUVs like the Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus and Aston Martin DBX, for example, have given brands significant financial boosts, if not saved them from demise.

McLaren in financial trouble

And that’s exactly what McLaren needs. In Corona times, the British sports car manufacturer was on the verge of bankruptcy, in the first months of 2022 the brand lost 235 million euros.

Former CEO Mike Flewitt said: “You don’t have to be a math genius to see that an SUV can’t be profitable for McLaren. We have to develop such a model from scratch. Can we launch a better version of the Range Rover or Porsche Cayenne immediately? Sure, but that costs billions! With our current production figures, we will never pay back such an investment.” The brand now seems to be coming back to that.

Crossover or SUV

In an interview with Automotive News, Jamie Corstorphine, McLaren’s director of product strategy, said, “The most important thing is to provide a vehicle that offers more space or options so that a McLaren customer can share the experience with more people.” Whether it’s a Will be a crossover or an SUV has yet to be decided. It is not yet certain, emphasizes Corstorphine.

McLaren is therefore seriously considering building a more practical car than we’ve seen from the British manufacturer so far. Whether this will actually be in the same genre as DBX, Cayenne and Urus remains to be seen.

A McLaren crossover or SUV doesn’t have to be a bad thing

While some purists may be disgusted by a McLaren SUV or crossover, several manufacturers are showing that they can keep their DNA with a big, heavy car. In addition, such a profitable model can ensure that a brand can still produce cars at all. In the video below, Dries van den Elzen takes you inside the “King of Crossovers”: the Lamborghini Urus.