McLaren Says SUVs Are Not Cool And That It Won't Make One!

• Almost all supercar manufacturers have an SUV in the pipeline.
• McLaren officials have cited various reasons to not make SUVs.
• Ferrari is set to unveil the Purosangue SUV in December.

McLaren has made it clear it won't be joining the likes of its competitors to make an SUV. Almost all manufacturers are jumping into the SUV bandwagon thanks to the huge market demand for them. McLaren’s reason for not going with the flow is that an SUV won’t fit into the British brand’s DNA which gives top-priority to dynamics and agility. 

Porsche kindled the whole performance SUV segment with the Cayenne in 2002. It was a controversial product back then but being built in Stuttgart, the Cayenne was soon praised for its handling and explosive powertrains. The Cayenne can also be credited for paving the way for Porsche’s howling V10-powered Carrera GT. It was the profit from the then ugly Cayenne that helped it dump bucket loads of money into the development of the mid-engined supercar to the point that it even gained an F1-inspired V10 engine and a carbon fibre chassis.

Fast forward to today, various other manufacturers have lowered their pride and started making SUVs. Lamborghini rolled in the Urus, reigniting the whole concept again. While Ferrari was adamant that it would never go down the SUV route, the Purosangue is right on track. Even Aston Martin is set to unveil the DBX SUV later in December. Name any manufacturer and chances are it already has an SUV or has one in the pipeline. Even Lotus is making an SUV for crying out loud. But not McLaren. 

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Woking is so obsessed with agility, dynamics and its brand ethos that it thinks an SUV wont fit its lineup. The global product manager for the McLaren GT, Tom Taylor, was quoted saying, “We want a car that’s still lightweight, still dynamic, still really agile, still feels like a McLaren.” McLaren is also not overly ambitious as it is eyeing an annual sales figure of 6,000 units by the next decade as part of its Track25 plan. “I can look you in the eye as I work in product planning and work with the product plan… there is no SUV in the plan. We won’t do an SUV.” said Tom Taylor to CarAdvice.

Further backing this is McLaren Sports Series director Darren Goddard who was quoted by CarSales calling SUVs “uncool” and  that other carmaker "are all just chasing volume. It’s not pure. Thinking about the difference between mass production and an exclusive product is quite different."