That electrical mechanics are reaching the supercar sector is no secret, and this is demonstrated not only by brands like Rimac, but also by many other renowned ones that have already set a date for their first electric offspring. However, and despite its more than established first steps with electrification, McLaren is reticent, emphatic and clear regarding its first electric supercar: “It will not happen until the Government clears itself up with the regulations.”
These statements have been echoed by the media carbuzz, who has been able to speak to Jamie Corstorphine, Director of Product Strategy of the English firm. And it is that despite the fact that those from Woking were among the first to flirt with electricity when developing a hypercar like the P1 was and they do it again with the Artura, at the moment it is not in their plans to create a fully electric.
“The electric McLaren will not arrive until the Government clarifies its strategy”
And it is that while McLaren has a clearer conception of an SUV, the electric car resists due to regulations in this regard that, as in other countries, are currently doubtful. “The electric car is our plan, but the outlook is not clear at all.” And although it is true that the European Union has determined the year 2035 as the death date for the combustion car, solutions such as hydrogen and synthetic fuels they are getting more and more.
In turn, Corstorphine alludes to the fact that “in England every car sold after 2030 must be a hybrid, while from 2035 it will have to be fully electric. However, the Government has not determined what constitutes a hybrid car, for example.” And on the other hand we find the production factor that, when dealing with brands with a modest volume of vehicles compared to generalists, its global emissions are lower.
This translates into a certain permissiveness when it comes to further developing “politically incorrect” cars, but McLaren depends, fundamentally, on the regulations that the country requires. And above all the one required abroad, since Jaimie Corstorphine himself indicates that “the combustion engine still has many opportunities, especially in other countries where not only customers demand it, but also allow cars to be sold gasoline.”
Be that as it may, those from Woking continue to bet on models like the new Artura, although, according to the statements of its product development director, Not so much anymore for complying with a half-baked regulationbut for not being left behind and complicating the task of succeeding for models like the Ferrari 296 GTB and the future replacement for the Lamborghini Huracán.
Thus, and surely to the taste of many, McLaren remains firm in the decision not to manufacture a 100% electric car. However, and if its plans remain intact, once the regulations are clear, the English house could go further and leave us with a successor to both the P1 and the Senna with fully electric mechanics.