Not long ago, McLaren was known for exactly one road car, the famous F1. Now, the company is promising a car a year. The new P1 will be followed shortly by a new sports car that will slot below the 12C, codenamed P13.
We’re told it will be another two-seat sports car, but designed to be more practical than the 12C — McLaren’s example of “practicality” is that the P13 will have a trunk. The company predicts the car will be its highest-volume product, and it will sell an anticipated 2000 to 2500 cars per year globally.
McLaren says to hit that volume, the P13 will be aimed at top-end Porsche 911s, at least in terms of price. The company is worried about cannibalizing 12C sales, so we expect the price will fall just below $200,000, enough to put some daylight between it and the 12C, which starts at closer to $250,000.
McLaren says the P13 will take design cues from the new P1, so we expect the P13 will feature lots of curves, swoops, active aerodynamic elements, and thin strips of LEDs.
Whilst the 570GT was exploring the volcanic landscape of Tenerife, on the other side of the planet, the 650S Spider was climbing the Hakone Turnpike in Japan.
During the 2016 season, McLaren customer teams and Factory Drivers have accumulated nine GT3 titles across the world, including championships racing in the Asian Le Mans Series, Blancpain Endurance Cup, Pirelli World Challenge and, most recently, the Australian GT and Endurance Championships.
The 650S GT3 also scored pole position, the lap record and overall victory in the 2016 Bathurst 12 Hour in what has become the most successful season in GT racing for McLaren to date.
Re-live some of the best moments from McLaren customer teams Strakka Racing and Garage 59’s trip to Silverstone for the three-hour Blancpain Endurance Cup race. The two British teams racing with McLaren combined to form a five-car 650S GT3 effort at the meeting, in which the 650S GT3 secured a the top eight finish on home soil as part of an enormous 55-car GT3 field.
The next round of the 2017 Blancpain Endurance Cup is set to take place on the 23-24 June at Paul Ricard, as a final dress-rehearsal for the 2017 Total 24 Hours of Spa in July.
