AutoExpress was bold enough to ask McLaren if a four-seater was in the mix and McLaren replied with a big, “Maybe.”

When you’ve got McLaren’s CEO within earshot of you, and you happen to be one of a couple of native English speakers in the room, you better believe some hard hitting questions will be asked. That’s exactly what the brave people over at Auto Express did when McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt had a quick minute to spare during the Shanghai Auto Show as reported on their piece earlier today (Apr. 20,2017.) A four-seater isn’t something that McLaren has just thought about from time to time but has been a reoccurring thought as something to add to their product portfolio.

According to Mike Flewitt,

“I can see four seats, but not four doors.It could be either Sports Series or Ultimate Series and I could see the GT further enhance its usability and further move in that direction if that vehicle could have at least a 2+2 configuration”

Additionally, Flewitt emphasized that adding two rear seats out back would with mess with the basic driving attributes that McLaren is known for.

…you would have to use a slightly longer wheelbase so you would lose a little of the agility that’s there.

Being CEO means that, although they are still a private company and not beholden to their stockholders, he must still follow managerial procedures in decision making, and that means a process. Supposedly, there are three components in product planning which McLaren will use; the market, if it fits with McLaren’s mission statement as a brand, and if it’ll be a winner with technology.

A cursory glance at their main website shows that McLaren is a technology group first and foremost. Right in their first sentence, their ethos is echoed,

McLaren Technology Group exists to win, and it is this philosophy that has driven the company to its current position as one of the world’s most illustrious high-technology brands.

In that previously listed three priorities and with the big cheese adamantly against an SUV, it’s obvious to see how that list ranks. McLaren is proud of its history and seems to be on a tear, introducing a new model every year. That being said, with four distinct models, as well as bidding farewell to a couple of others, McLaren has yet to establish a strong customer base to buy what they’ve got to offer. While it would behoove McLaren to make a crossover, we already know where they stand.

Seeing a McLaren 2+2 GT would be interesting but ultimately unprofitable in our opinion. Surely they can compete against BMW’s 6-series, Ferrari’s GTC4Lusso or Aston Martin’s V8 Vantage but we think the market isn’t there.

Perhaps a concept can be introduced to gauge interest, but other than that, McLaren should stick to what they’re best at fast cars without an unnecessary backseat.

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