After finding out that the next Super Series might go hybrid, it seems that the Ultimate Series will take another step into the future with an all-electric vehicle.
“Our engineers have even started work on a one-off prototype to evaluate the possible benefits of a fully-electric powertrain in an Ultimate Series car; such is the pace of development“, said McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt.
Part of the Track22 six-year business plan presented last week in Geneva by Flewitt, the new battery-electric car should succeed the most expensive and focused model in the company’s lineup, the P1, as Autocar reports.
McLaren will invest £1 billion ($1.4 billion) in Research and Development and it will launch 15 new vehicles, which will include both series and short-run cars, to replace the entire existing car range every five years. It is estimated that roughly half of these cars will be hybrids.
The successor of the P1 will have to equal or best the hybrid hypercar’s performance, meaning 0-60 mph 96 km/h) in 2.0 seconds, 0-100 mph (161 km/h) in less than 6.0 seconds and a top speed of more than 200 mph (322 km/h).
“We know how well owners respond to the sound of our existing cars. We’d have to find an authentic way to match that in a new generation“, commented Flewitt.
A final decision in the development of an all-electric exotic in the Ultimate Series range has yet to be taken, but it will have to keep track of two different problems: fast-charging infrastructure and noise.
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