The new platform will allow McLaren cars to compete in the sprint with the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan

The British company McLaren is finishing work on a new platform that will allow its cars to become faster and more economical.

According to Car and Driver, citing McLaren CEO Mike Fluitt, over the next three to four years, the entire model line of the brand will be transferred to the new platform, and its flagship supercar will lead. It will get an all-wheel drive transmission and a hybrid powertrain, thanks to which it will be able to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 2.3 seconds - about the same dynamics as a Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan in sunny weather on warm pavement. But the McLaren high-voltage battery will have a clearly small capacity (and weight), since the brand's cars will be able to overcome from 15 to 20 miles (24-32 kilometers) exclusively on electric traction.

Mike Fluitt also said that the first car on the new platform will be presented before the end of 2020, and it will be available in American car dealerships of the brand at the beginning of 2021.

The transition to the new platform and hybridization will add about 30 kilograms to the weight of the McLaren cars, but this figure can be applied to models with the new V6 engine. The current McLaren cars, we recall, are mainly equipped with V8 biturbo engines.

But fans of the brand should not expect the appearance of an all-electric hypercar, since the current lithium-ion batteries are too heavy, expensive and have insufficient capacity to match the spirit of McLaren cars. Performance-enhancing solid-state counterparts should be introduced in 2023, but even so, Mike Fluitt doubts an all-electric McLaren will be introduced within the next 30 years. The range of the brand includes the P1 hypercar, equipped with a 916-horsepower plug-in hybrid power plant, the battery of which has a capacity of 4.7 kWh. It accelerates to 96 km/h in 2.7 seconds. Also, don't forget about the limited-edition Speedtail model with a 1050 hp hybrid engine.

As for the rumors about the possible development of an SUV, Mike Flewitt immediately denied them. According to him, for this McLaren needs to develop an appropriate platform, which could cost the company $1 billion. “We will never get them back,” he concluded.