Rumorpile: McLaren Working On A Baby Model

By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

March 26, 2013

McLaren is hard at work on their next model that will slot below the MP4-12C as the automaker’s “entry-level” model, McLaren executive chairman Ron Dennis has confirmed to Autocar.

Wearing the codename of P13, sources tell Autocarthe model will likely be designed as a Porsche 911 Turbo rival. Power will come a detuned version of McLaren’s twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8. Power is expected to somewhere in the middle of 450 and 616 horsepower. The transmission will be a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The chassis will be the MP4-12C’s carbon fiber “MonoCell” chassis, which was developed from the start to be feasible for use in a smaller, less expensive model.

Design is unknown, but Autocar speculates that it will likely follow in the footsteps of the P1 and not the MP4-12C. A drop-top is in the cards as well.

McLaren expects to sell up to 2,500 units for the P13, making it a volume model if it goes into production within the next three years. Pricing is expected to be below $200,000.

Source: Autocar

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.