After a recent batch of patent images showcased the design of the Senna-based McLaren Sabre, we were gearing up for the imminent prospect of seeing the new hypercar in full. Expected to fall under the marque's Ultimate Series, we may have to contain our excitement because McLaren has no plans to launch a new Ultimate Series car until around 2025.

Speaking to Automotive News, CEO Mike Flewitt confirmed as much. "The Elva will be the last Ultimate car until the next-generation P1," he said. The open-cockpit Elva was announced as the company's lightest car ever last year and production of the roadster got underway in November.

Disappointingly, the Elva's production run was lowered from an originally planned 399 units to just 149. Flewitt explained that this was due to the roadster's launch amid the pandemic, which saw the company lose much of its production capacity.

Back to the Sabre, though - will we really have to wait until the middle of the decade for a car that has already been spotted testing in California? Well, perhaps not, since the Sabre could potentially fall outside the Ultimate Series of McLaren supercars.

"The plan actually is don't do another Ultimate car until we do what we call the next-generation P1," said Flewitt. The middle of this decade is a long time to wait for a P1 successor since that car was launched all the way back in 2013.

"We've done a number of cars quite close together with Senna, Speedtail, and Elva," continued Flewitt. "We wanted to create a little bit of space in the market anyway. The pandemic has just reinforced that."

There is plenty to look forward to outside McLaren's range of Ultimate cars, though, as the new Artura hybrid supercar will be launched in the first half of next year. It's rumored that the Artura will produce over 600 horsepower from a combination of a twin-turbo V6 and an electric motor.