After Porsche rocked the automotive world by launching an SUV, which actually saved it from bankruptcy, the trend slowly caught up with the rest and to hell with the purists’ outrage.
Bentley, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Maserati, Rolls-Royce – you name it and it has most certainly has jumped onto the bandwagon.
Putting aside tradition and emotion, from a financial standpoint it makes sense because, that’s what the customers want and the brands are more than happy to oblige. Full order books are good business; even more so when you get a nice, fat profit.
McLaren might be on a full-on assault, coming from nowhere and sporting a full range in only six years’ time, but this is one segment it will not enter.
“There are three reasons we will not make an SUV”, head of PR, Wayne Bruce (no Batman jokes, please, he’s had enough to last to life times) told us during the 570GT’s international launch in Tenerife.
“First, we are focused on our sports cars, which are selling quite well, limited editions that are all sold out and MSO specials. Second, for the past three years the company is making a profit and, though we will roll out new models like the 570 Spider in 2017, we will cap our annual production to around 5,000 units. And, finally, our customers simply do not want a McLaren SUV”, he said, adding that they are intent on keeping the brand’s DNA intact. This, in our book, is just fine and more than fitting for the sole automaker that can boast a Formula 1 record nearly equal to that of Ferrari.
Maranello, by the way, also stays away from the segment and is doing great, with people queuing up to buy one of its sports cars. Hats off to Woking for also dismissing the SUV craze and crushing previous rumors. Sorry, boys and girls, you’ll have to make do with a Trident, a Raging Bull, a Spirit of Ecstasy or something akin to that on your bonnet.
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