McLaren’s New High Tech Carbon Skeleton “Monocage II” Unveiled
This high-strength carbon tub will be the backbone of McLaren’s new Super Series of road cars.
McLaren has been working on a successor to the current 650S and 675LT that has been codenamed “P14” and is expected to make its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Based on the shapes shown here, the new car will feature a pair of dihedral doors that extend into the roof, as well as lower and narrower sills than the outgoing model to ease ingress and egress. McLaren splits their lineup into Sports Series (570S, 570GT, and 540C), Super Series (650S and 675LT), and Ultimate Series (P1), and whatever they’re planning the P14 to look like it has been slotted firmly into the Super Series section.
This P14 road car is expected to weigh about 40 pounds less than the 650S it replaces, and nearly 400 pounds less than Ferrari’s 488 GTB. McLaren claims that in addition to being lighter weight, the new car will also be more rigid than its predecessor. This claimed rigidity comes in spite of a larger greenhouse and thinner pillars intended to promote all-round visibility.
This new car will be the first of McLaren’s upcoming 15 new models and variants due by 2022. McLaren has also claimed that by that time more than 50% of their lineup will feature hybrid drive technology, so it would not be entirely surprising to see this car debut in hybrid form with trickle-down technology from the P1. It is likely that the P14 will use a derivative of the current turbocharged V8 used across McLaren’s model range, though it is possible that it will be a larger displacement version, and will likely feature more than the 641 horsepower currently on tap in the 650S.
Where the transition from MP4-12C to 650S was simply evolutionary, this new car will signal a complete model replacement, a first for McLaren road car construction. Don’t expect them to tone down the looks, as McLaren’s Design Director, Frank Stephenson, has stated the new car will be “even crazier” than the P1 from an aesthetic point of view.
Mike Flewitt, CEO McLaren Automotive:
“Super Series personifies the blend of extreme performance, crafted luxury and unparalleled driver involvement that is the McLaren heartland.This is the first time we have replaced a product family and the new Super Series will be absolutely true to McLaren’s pioneering spirit in being a revolutionary leap forward, both for our brand and the supercar segment.”
All eyes will be on McLaren in the coming years. 15 new models in 5 years is a big claim from a company that has only been building their own cars for 5 years as is. That said, the brand has improved tremendously since the early MP4-12C’s that were released in 2012.