news

McLaren Planning Hybrid Supercar?

HYBRID TECH is increasingly the flavour of the month; now, even the most un-green marques such as Ferrari are contemplating their own petrol-electric high-performance models.
Not wanting to be left out of the game, it appears McLaren is looking to establ


HYBRID TECH is increasingly the flavour of the month; now, even the most un-green marques such as Ferrari are contemplating their own petrol-electric high-performance models.

Not wanting to be left out of the game, it appears McLaren is looking to establish a hybrid vehicle program of its own.

The British supercar maker has advertised a job vacancy on its website for a senior engineer specialising in hybrid powertrain technology - the most blatant of hints that it's giving serious thought to joining the hybrid club.

The job description specifically requests that applicants have, "knowledge & working experience of high performance hybrid Powertrain technology", and experience in low volume (under 5000 units) production.

That pretty much rules out the upcoming T.25 minicar that McLaren will be wheeling out soon, and strongly suggests that plans are afoot for a hybrid supercar.

With plans to build just 4000 cars, the McLaren P11 is a strong candidate to receive a hybrid powertrain, however given the timing of McLaren's job advert it's unlikely this model will launch with a petrol-electric powerplant.

The rumoured F2 supercar (the long-awaited successor to the F1, above) may also receive a performance-geared hybrid system, but it's still too early to speculate.

McLaren won't comment on whether the job vacancy signals a solid intent to build a road-going hybrid car. The fact however that the company is actively looking to recruit a hybrid powertrain specialist indicates that there's no longer any doubt that it's taking the technology very seriously.

You can read McLaren's job advert here.

Chat with us!







Chat with Agent