McLaren Might've Just Stolen Some Ferrari Magic

Apr. 21, 2022 8:11 PM ET by Gerhard Horn Rumor / 3 Comments

The British supercar maker is still in search of a new CEO.

McLaren's ex-CEO, Mike Flewitt, stepped down last year at the end of October. At the time, his statement read, "I feel incredibly proud to have led McLaren Automotive through most of its first, highly-successful decade and am privileged to have played a part in the incredible McLaren story." But since his departure, the reins haven't quite been in permanent hands. Michael Macht, a non-executive director on the McLaren board, has been in charge of operations, but McLaren is still on the hunt for a permanent CEO. The rumor mill has been churning away, however, and now suggests that McLaren might have found the perfect replacement. From Ferrari.

An anonymous source spoke to Bloomberg, which reported that the McLaren board is in discussions with Michael Leiters, former chief technology officer at Ferrari. Leiters stepped down at Ferrari near the end of last year, which means he's most likely responsible for most of the current range, including the recently introduced Ferrari 296 GTS.

It's not a done deal, however. According to the same source, Leiters is one of the leading candidates for the job.

It's no secret that McLaren is suffering financially at the moment. The pandemic reduced demand for supercars drastically, and its F1 team has struggled for years to get back to its former spot at the top of the constructor's championship. Hopefully, the launch of the Artura will change things a bit.

Still, there is massive interest in the company. There have been multiple rumors regarding the brand. BMW seems to want a piece of the road car business, while Audi wants to get in on the F1 action.

Leiters was one of three top Ferrari executives to leave the company when its new CEO, Benedetto Vigna, arrived. While the actual story will likely be kept under wraps due to nondisclosure agreements, Leiters and his fellow executives seemed to have creative differences with Ferrari's future.

In short, they likely looked at the Ferrari Purosangue and decided to leave before the introduction of the famous Italian supercar brand's first SUV.