Despite the growing trend toward high-end SUVs, one supercar maker has no plans to fall in line. That would be McLaren, which said it has absolutely no plans to introduce a Lamborghini- or Ferrari-rivaling SUV, according to a Top Gear report published on Wednesday.
Although the brand has plans for 12 new cars between now and 2022, none of them will take the shape of a high-riding SUV. And McLaren head designer Dan Parry-Williams trounced the idea.
"I'm not the first person to point out an SUV is neither particularly sporty or utilitarian," he said. He also said the segment does not cultivate McLaren's design ideal of "everything for a reason."
We've heard similarly brash tones from Ferrari over its own utility vehicle, specifically from chairman Sergio Marchionne. Once a hard "no" on a Ferrari SUV, the now-confirmed "Ferrari Utility Vehicle" we be one of Marchionne's final projects before leaving the brand in 2021. Although an SUV follows none of Ferrari's pedigree, the chairman assured loyalists it will drive like a Ferrari. And, of course, there's the Lamborghini Urus, which seems less sacrilegious only because of the rough-and-tumble LM002 SUV of 1986-1993. Still, it's a far cry from the brand's other products like the Huracán Performante.
All of McLaren's future cars will ride on one of three architectures and continue to fall under the Sport Series, Super Series, or Ultimate Series groupings. Even if McLaren pulled a 180, none of the platforms would support a utility vehicle.