McLaren confirms 540C

MCLAREN will follow its freshly unveiled 570S sportscar with at least two more variants, adding to the “more attainable” Sports Series range and forming a line-up that it says could double global volume in the next three years.

The much-anticipated 570S was officially unveiled in the United States overnight and offers McLaren fans a more affordable way into the British supercar brand, and the company confirmed a 540C would join the series under the flagship of the range.

By breaching the more accessible market, McLaren is taking the fight to Porsche’s front door, putting the venerable 911 on notice as well as a host of other premium-brand sports models.

Speaking at the official pre-New York motor show launch, McLaren Automotive executive director of global sales and marketing Jolyon Nash told media a less-powerful 540C would be unveiled at the Shanghai motor show in April, and it would be followed by a convertible.

“The 570 will be the more powerful of our Sports Series range,” he said “There will be a 540C that we will reveal at Shanghai. There will also be a Spider variant but it won’t be the next variant that we launch.”

Mr Nash said the range would be comprised of “three body types” without giving specific details of what was to follow the 540C, but reviewing previous model life-cycles could reveal a clue, he said.

“We said that when we launched the 675LT in Geneva that every model range will have an LT, so at some stage it’s foreseeable that it will come,” he said.

With the arrival of a diverse and more affordable range for the McLaren stables, Mr Nash is predicting the Sports Series will dramatically increase sales for the company and boost output.

“This car is absolutely a critical car for us – this is probably our most important car,” he said “This is a car that will drive the next strong phase of growth for McLaren. If we are successful with this car we will probably double the size of our business.

“Probably not 2016 but I would think maybe 2017 or 2018.”

Last year the company sold 1649 vehicles worldwide and if the growth forecast is accurate, McLaren could be selling close to 3500 vehicles per annum in three years.