The German and British carmakers are getting back together to build an electric supercar and SUV.
BMW and McLaren are reportedly teaming up to build two new electric models, one of which will be a supercar.
The last time these two manufacturers worked together, they built what many believe to be the seminal analog supercar, the McLaren F1. Gordon Murray designed a magnificent machine, and BMW built an equally glorious naturally aspirated 6.1-liter V12 producing 618 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque.
According to Car UK, this relationship will start again nearly 25 years after it ended. The relationship will be mutually beneficial, as BMW will get a supercar to go up against a host of incoming go-faster EVs. McLaren will get the SUV it so desperately needs to turn a buck.
Rumors about the German and British brands working together have been circling for years, most likely because of the F1 connection. The relationship is a marketing department's dream come true, but it has never come to fruition. According to the rumor, BMW's boss put an end to the previous deal when Audi started sniffing around.
McLaren's CEO, Zak Brown, confirmed that it had talks with Audi, so BMW's fears that its intellectual property might find its way into rival hands were not unwarranted.
Now that Audi's F1 aspirations are an open secret, BMW and McLaren can resume talks without fear of leaking information. McLaren can't afford to be the center of another espionage scandal.
According to an insider, the deal is also different this time because it's a win-win for all involved.
McLaren may be a niche brand, but it can help BMW's M Division compete in the mid-engine supercar segment. To date, BMW has only built the M1 and the i8, neither of which was a sales hit. McLaren went from the MP4-12C to the Artura in a little over a decade.
McLaren needs help on the EV SUV side, and BMW will have plenty of experience to share thanks to cars like the iX. We know BMW is already working on solid-state battery technology, so McLaren could potentially skip a generation of EVs and still be prepared for the upcoming shift.
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