McLaren may build a future BMW supercar!

Kuala Lumpur: BMW and McLaren have a fairly strong history together, mainly in motorsports, particularly with their Formula One and Le Mans programs in the 1990s. According to Car, both the auto giants may once again tie the knot for another supercar project, this time, with a V8, where McLaren could be responsible for building the car.

The two companies have been discussing this opportunity since January and the final product is scheduled to reach customers in early 2019, as per news received from sources. The speculated future car will allegedly take the form of a sleek, two-seater mid-engined coupe at first and then a roadster styled model. The model will share its carbon fibre monocoque with the McLaren P16, the model that will replace the 650S.

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The two cars will be built on the same platform, and they will share most brake, suspension and steering components, but they will not look anything alike when parked next to each other. Similarly, BMW will design a brand-specific interior for its car.

BMW’s version of the car will be powered by a mid-mounted 4.0-liter V8 that will use four turbochargers, two exhaust-driven units and two electric units. This powertrain is expected to produce target power output to be somewhere around 750 horsepower.

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This thought was brought to life, a long time back by BMW but it gained momentum soon after the arrival of the new bosses, CEO Harald Kruger and M Division head Frank Van Meel. New R&D chief Klaus Frolich was said to have initiated exploratory talks with McLaren earlier this year.

Pricing is expected to start at over £150,000 (RM984,057), a figure that will position the coupe at the very top of the BMW lineup and head to head against popular supercars built by the likes of Ferrari and Aston Martin.