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How McLaren will double its output this year

McLaren Automotive is aiming to almost double its output this year, to 3,000 cars, and hit 4,000 cars per year by 2017. That's over 50 percent of Ferrari's annual production, yet the current McLaren Automotive is only six years old, based about 40 miles southwest of London in Woking. In pursuance of its lofty plans, McLaren recently announced a massive expansion its operations and is hiring another 250 assembly staff for a second shift, which will bring its total headcount to 1,750. Is it chutzpah, or rank stupidity? McLaren made just 1,654 cars last year, including the last of the 570-strong run of P1 supercars, which had an average transaction price of $1.35 million each, and all 40 or so track-only P1 GTRs, which sold for over $288 million. January saw the last P1 GTRs running down the track at Woking. Is it chutzpah, or rank stupidity? And while these cars cannot have been cheap to design and build, it's not hard to see how profitable they will have been. Given that much of the research and development (R&D) will have been amortized in the years up to the 2013 launch of the P1, the profit level has soared in subsequent years. In 2014, its second year of profit and under the leadership of chief executive Mike Flewitt, McLaren Automotive generated a profit before tax of $21.7 million, compared to $6.53 million in 2013. Turnover grew from $413.6 million in 2013 to $688.9 million in 2014. To be fair, the company is investing almost 20 percent of that turnover in R&D ($132.9 million in 2014, $97 million in 2013) and it says that level of spend as a proportion of turnover will continue, with last year's R&D cost estimated at $173.7 million. View 22 Photos In its defense, McLaren says that as a late comer it is still growing in China, which Flewitt has said could well be McLaren's second largest market in 2016 after the US and ahead of the UK and Germany. He also says that the company's growth plans are based on actual orders rather than theoretical expectations, and that since it is (and has been) profitable at 1,500 cars per year, there is some protection against a downturn. But the cars it has to sell this year are a far cry from the exotic and phantasmagorical P1 or the P1 GTR, which were only sold to existing P1 owners. The Sports Series, while being based on shared carbon-fiber tub and the same Ricardo-built 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine and seven-speed twin-clutch transmission, is a much cheaper car.

More than half of new McLarens will be hybrids by 2022

McLaren has an ambitious growth plan. After building just 1,654 cars in 2015, CEO Mike Flewitt expects the Woking, UK,-based company to churn out 3,000 units in 2016, but doubling production is only the start. Flewitt predicts that figure will swell to 4,500 to 5,000 annually, which "is about capacity," for the company's production facility, he told Automotive News Europe. The increase in production is key to a revenue-driven research-and-development effort that will allow the company to create 15 new products and introduce "a completely new powertrain architecture ... specifically designed for a hybridized application," Flewitt said. "In the latter part of this business plan to 2022, more than half our cars will be hybrids," Flewitt told ANE. "This second powertrain will run in parallel to the eight cylinder we have today and will have hybrid technology integrated into it from day one." This new model would arrive near the end of the decade, Flewitt said, but unlike the company's current and only hybrid, the P1, it won't be a plug-in hybrid. Related Video:

The new 679-hp McLaren 688HS leaks online

McLaren, since returning to the road car business a few years back, has refused to let up. Every year the company has released a new model or a new variation of a previous one, and they've all been pretty damn good. Now that the limited production P1 and 675LT are all sold out, the company has been working on a fast new track-focused model to replace it. Thanks to a user on the forum McLaren Life, we now have our first glimpse of the upcoming 688HS, F1-inspired roof scoop and all. The 688 High Sport was commissioned by McLaren Special Operations, the group that builds small-batch bespoke vehicles like the 650S Le Mans or the 650S Can-Am. Carscoops reports the new car will be limited to just 25 models, making it one of the most exclusive road cars on the planet. Like the 675LT, the 688HS will be a faster and leaner version of already fantastic 650S. The number 688 refers to the 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8's output in metric horsepower, or about 679 in American ponies. It is set to lose weight over the 650S and will be fitted with a number of carbon fiber aero modifications. The photos show a large scoop on the roof and out back two uprights for what appears to be a fixed rear wing. Expect a zero to 60 mph time of less than three seconds and a price tag of more than $350,000, although all 25 models are presumably spoken for. Those itching for a rare car from MSO can hold their breaths for the rumored F1 successor. Related Video: News Source: CarscoopsImage Credit: McLaren Life McLaren Coupe Special and Limited Editions Supercars mclaren 650s