McLaren, known best for its racecars, is going commercial. 06/24/2011
McLaren recently opened its first dealership in London, with plans to open 35 more around the world. The first showroom is located at One Hyde Park, an upscale residential and retail complex, that is also home to Rolex and the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Motor Trend reports. Two Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, hosted the grand opening of the showroom last week, according to Manufacturer.com.
The British car company is getting ready to invest nearly $1 billion to develop and produce 13 new models to expand its commercial lineup over the next few years, according to Top Speed. These new cars will help McLaren compete in a broader market with exotic carmakers, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini.
"I see it as a fantastic challenge to come to the market with a new brand," Ron Dennis, McLaren's executive chairman, told Bloomberg Television.
Last month, the carmaker unveiled its latest sports car, the MP4-12C GT3, and it is already sold out for the next three years, which is a good indicator for the success of the commercial venture. The new car was modeled after the GT3, a McLaren track car. This is not the first consumer car that the car company has produced, but the proposed production of 1,000 vehicles per year is nearly 10 times as many as the 106 F1's that were built between 1992 and 1997.
Top Speed states that the British company plans to produce a Spyder version and a smaller edition of the vehicle to compete with sports cars, such as the Porsche 911. McLaren hopes to increase its overall production to 4,000 new cars each year by the time they have released all 13 of their proposed models.