If this rumor is to be believed, McLaren would supply the chassis while BMW would bring the drivetrain. McLaren F1 style.
DW BurnettBMW and McLaren executives recently met behind closed doors to discuss the possibility of two jointly developed EVs, U.K. publication Car Magazine reports. According to the report, the two carmakers would come together to develop an all-electric supercar and crossover, each of which would have its own variant for the respective brands.
Like the legendary McLaren F1, Car Magazine claims this new supercar would use a carbon fiber chassis from McLaren, while BMW would provide the drivetrain in the form of electric motors and batteries. BMW would also reportedly bring the software, though the car would be built in the U.K.
“McLaren impressed us by rethinking the way a modern sports car should be engineered and built—their fresh approach to the integration of key components is particularly clever,” an unnamed source from BMW told Car Magazine.
Rather than have one car with two badges, the report claims this joint project would birth two distinct supercars running on the same platform, each with their own exterior and interior designs. An example of something like this currently on the market would be the Porsche Taycan and the Audi e-Tron GT.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of McLaren and BMW discussing a modern partnership. Back in 2015 Car Magazine published an article claiming the two European brands planned to collaborate on a V-8-powered supercar, only for that rumor to be squashed two days later by Klaus Fröhlich, BMW’s head of R&D at the time. So we’d take this latest report with a grain of salt.
A McLaren spokesperson told Road & Track via email it is “open to exploring opportunities to engage with new technology partners as part of our future electrification strategy,” but didn’t have any comment on this specific rumor.
BMW did not immediately respond to Road & Track’s inquiry for comment.
Keyword: McLaren and BMW Are Reportedly Discussing a Joint EV Supercar