McLaren CEO: Half our cars will be hybrids by 2022
If any of them are as remotely awesome as the P1, we're in for a real treat.
McLaren's on the move. After reintroducing itself to the sports-car scene with the MP4-12C, followed by the 650S, the P1, the 675LT and the 570S, critics and enthusiasts alike are really digging what Woking is selling. But the British company has no plans to rest on its current bed of laurels, according to CEO Mike Flewitt.
Flewitt this week discussed some of McLaren's future plans with Automotive News Europe. One tidbit struck me as exceptionally interesting: "[A new McLaren powertrain] will be specifically designed for a hybridized application. In the latter part of this business plan to 2022, more than half our cars will be hybrids," he said.
The new powertrain will be ready for hybrids on day one, and this plan should start to bear fruit at the end of this decade. Flewitt claimed that plug-in hybrids do have advantages, but the convenience of a traditional hybrid is preferred. He also says that it this new powertrain will stick with traditional McLaren tenets, including carbon-fiber architecture and a mid-engine configuration.
Of course, there's a reason for Macca going green: regulations. "The key driver is to meet emissions targets," Flewitt said. "The only real solution is a hybrid powertrain." Considering its current hybrid, the P1, is capable of some positively ludicrous performance figures, this is a future for which I am awfully excited.