The idea of a 2 + 2 McLaren Automotive sports car has been floating around the Web for a while now, but according to a recent text message sent to Inside Line from McLaren PR boss Mark Harrison, there's no meat on those bones. Instead, McLaren will focus on the truer idea of a sports car, meaning two seats and the engine behind the driver.
It's not so far-fetched to think a 2 + 2 is possible, however. The legendary McLaren F1 seated three, in a flanking position with the driver in the middle. But the tone of the text message from Harrison makes it clear that the only thing on McLaren's mind at present is taking on the world's top two-seaters.
The commitment to a mid-engine layout is another important, if unsurprising, item of note. The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and Dodge Viper SRT10 are two of the increasingly rare breed of supercar that still use a front-engine layout, but do so largely as holdovers from previous eras of design. The mid-engine position makes more sense in terms of dynamics and weight distribution, and given the clean-sheet design of all of McLaren Automotive's cars, there's no tradition to cleave to.
For more on McLaren's upcoming MP4-12C, check out our preview story here.
