McLaren is making a new Grand Tourer to complement their upcoming Speedtail hypercar.
Do you like long drives away from the city and into the country? Do you prefer driving from your estate in the Hamptons all the way to the sunny beaches of the Carolinas? Would you rather never take your hands off the wheel for hours on end, until you’re basically locked in the driving position in perpetuity? And, most importantly, do you have more money than 99% of humanity?
Congratulations! You should get a grand touring car, a style of car that is hard to find these days due to the advent of the private jet. But some people just can’t abide flying and so prefer the comfort of having their fate in their own hands.
Many luxury marques make luxury sedans, but few make the grand tourer, a style of luxury coupe that’s designed to offer maximum performance and comfort in a single package. It’s a tough combination, but if anyone can do it, it’s McLaren.
At this year’s Geneva Motor Show, McLaren announced their first grand tourer. The fourth car in their Track25 business plan, McLaren promised it would be an industry leader in the segment, combining McLaren’s style and craftsmanship with a "level of agility never experienced before in the luxury Grand Tourer segment."
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In order to verify their creation, McLaren is putting their Grand Tourer (they still haven’t narrowed down a name yet) through a grueling series of long distance drives. One went all the way from Barcelona, Spain to McLaren’s development center in Woking, England--a drive of 1,000 miles. That was with two occupants and a full complement of luggage.
We know precious little about the Grand Tourer. McLaren says it’ll have more space, headroom, and usable storage than any other car they’ve built. It’ll have a twin-turbo V8, share “DNA” with the upcoming Speedtail hypercar, and be unique among McLarens for not being part of the Sport Series, Super Series, or Ultimate Series of cars.
It also has a camouflage-covered in numbers that represent the rules which the Grand Tourer will break. McLaren doesn’t specify what those rules are exactly.
We’ll learn more in May when McLaren takes off some of the camouflage.