McLaren’s road-car business has blossomed over the past couple of years, but when we look back at 2015 in 11 months with rose-tinted spectacles, we’ll probably remember it as the year the Woking-based company really had an effect on the supercar and sports-car scene.
McLaren has already released images of the drop-dead gorgeous and phenomenally expensive, track-only, not-for-racing P1 GTR that it plans to unveil at the Geneva motor show next month, but it confirmed last week that a fruity version of the 650S, the 675LT, would also make an appearance.
The 675LT will sit at the top of the McLaren Super Sports series performance tree ahead of the 650S and the Asia-only 625C. The 675 part of the name indicates the engine’s output in figures that the Europeans tend to favour (PS, or pferdestarke), chiefly because it sounds like more and is easier to market than the devilishly scary 666hp that it actually produces. The LT part of the car’s badge reintroduces the Longtail name, which was last applied to the staggering McLaren F1 road car in the late 1990s.
In keeping with tradition, the 675LT will have a more aerodynamic rear end, which will produce more downforce and cuts weight, while performing a lot better than the 650S it’s based on.
The other imminent news we’re waiting on is when the company plans to launch its P13, the first of its cars under the Sports series range, and a car that it plans to use to target traditional Porsche 911 customers. McLaren says the New York motor show in April is a “key date”, which means it’s highly likely that’s when the wraps will be pulled from the car officially.
Details on the car are scant, which naturally means that speculation is rife as to how much power the car will have and just what McLaren will call it. So, here’s a fairly educated guess, based on a little logic and a lot of assumption.
Given the romance of the Ferrari name, and the poetry of other names associated with the brand, it’s fitting that cars from Maranello have beautiful names.
McLaren can’t really follow this route. Bruce McLaren himself may have been a motorsport visionary, but “Bruce” lacks the kind of gravitas you may expect of a serious sports car. It’s more something that an Aussie redneck might call his Commodore or Falcon.
Ron isn’t a terribly good name either, and Dennis is the sort of thing that old fire engines are called – so it’s fairly safe to assume that McLaren will probably go down the clinical numbers route again, as it has with the 12C, 650S and P1.
The real questions is: what will that number be? If the car is to be pitched against the 911, the number will have to be better than the 520hp that the 911 Turbo makes. And if there’s to be a sportier version to go head-to-head with the 560hp Turbo S, expect a bigger number from McLaren for that one, too.
Given that McLaren seems to like its numbers divisible by five, we’d say there’s a good chance that the P13 (that’s its project name, so it’s unlikely to be called that) will hit the streets as the 530 or 550 for the entry level one, and about 575hp for the one pitched at Turbo S fans. We’d also take a punt that whatever number McLaren settles on, it’s likely to be followed by either a C or an S.
We’ll find out soon enough whether our guesswork is spot on or wide of the mark, but in the meantime, we’ll just have to wait until press day at Geneva to get a closer look at the 675LT.
And if you’re wondering about that P1 GTR, then you’re probably a bit too late. You’d have had a call from Ron by now. Purchase was by invitation, and only if you’d already stumped up for a P1.