Geneva show: McLaren bares heart of new supercar

THE second generation of the McLaren Super Series will debut in March at the Geneva motor show, with the British supercar-builder adopting an inside-out strategy to publicise the new car by releasing images and details of its new chassis.

McLaren claims that the new chassis – labelled as the Monocage II – “delivers extreme strength and contributes to the car’s light weight”, while the refined structure also allows for a wider cabin entrance and lower sill to improve access and visibility, and a lower centre of gravity to further sharpen handling.

The second generation of the Super Series – which sits above the Sports Series but below the Ultimate Series – is McLaren Automotive’s first-ever replacement of a product family and the first of the 15 new cars defined in the company’s Track22 business plan.

The Super Series lineage began in 2011 with the launch of the 12C. The 12C Spider followed in 2012, and in 2014 McLaren introduced the 650S Coupé and 650S Spider. The first generation of the McLaren Super Series was further expanded in 2015 with the launch of the limited edition 675LT Coupé and 675LT Spider.

McLaren Automotive chief executive officer Mike Flewitt said the Super Series vehicles symbolise the philosophy of the British marque.

“Super Series is the core of the McLaren business and personifies the blend of extreme performance, crafted luxury and unparalleled driver involvement that is the McLaren heartland,” he said.

The company is talking up the new chassis describing it as, “immensely rigid, yet weighing less than the carbon fibre and metal cockpit architecture of the first-generation Super Series”.

They claim the Monocage II contributes to a dry weight of 1,283kg for the new car, some 18kg lighter than a McLaren 650S with comparable specification.

McLaren owners who fear they may not be conspicuous enough, and wish to display the carbon-fibre construction chassis, can option a Visible Monocage that exposes the material on the inside area of the A-pillar.