McLaren's new boss "loves SUVs". But would a high-riding Macca destroy the company or cement its future? | Opinion

McLaren’s new global boss Michael Leiters loves SUVs - no seriously, I’m not making that up he actually said “I love SUVs” in an interview with Autocar last year.

He also made a heart shape with his fingers when he said it. OK, I made that last part up, but I like to imagine he did. What’s true is he very much wants McLaren to build an SUV and that raises the question: do SUVs break luxury sportscar brands or make them even more successful?

McLaren’s priority has always been motorsport first. That’s how it’s been since New Zealander Bruce McLaren founded his company in 1963, one which is now second only to Ferrari as the most successful Formula One team ever. 

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McLaren was so focussed on motorsport that it didn’t even look away from the racetrack to build its first official road car until 1992 - the McLaren F1. It was a BMW V12-powered beast and just 106 were made before McLaren decided to retire from building road cars and go back to racing.

That changed in 2010 when McLaren made the MP4-12C two-seater supercar and encouraged by the reaction (and money people were prepared to pay), went and built the 570S and then a convertible version. Then it built a spate of more models from the 650S to the 720S and most recently the 750S. Rivals to the likes of Ferrari’s 296 GTB and Lamborghini Huracan STO.

McLaren was experiencing its biggest transformation in its 60-year history - it was becoming better known for its road cars than its race cars. But with the arrival of its new CEO Michael Leiters last year, things were about to change monumentally.

The road to McLaren had seen Leiters as the Chief Technical Officer at Ferrari for eight years and Porsche for 13 years where he was Product Line Director. Porsche’s Cayenne and Ferrari’s Purosangue were the first SUVs for those brands and they happened under Leiter’s instruction.

McLaren’s new global boss Michael Leiters loves SUVs.

“I developed an SUV at Ferrari,” he told Autocar in 2022. “I developed an SUV at Porsche, so I love SUVs.”

There you go - the full quote.

It’s not surprising then that Leiters is keen to do the same at McLaren, but it appears some senior executives might be trying to lasso him and bring him around to their way of thinking.

It was at the launch of the recent launch of 750S that McLaren’s Managing Director for Asia Pacific and China, Paul Harris, told CarsGuide that his boss Michael Leiters was developing a better understanding of McLaren as the company's still-new global CEO.

Those at McLaren would be wise to listen to Leiters and fast track an SUV. (AI generated image)

“Michael Leiters as our CEO has very clearly said that he’s an SUV fan,” Harris told CarsGuide. “But I also think Mike, since he’s come to McLaren, has been very understanding of the brand and the core DNA of the brand. 

“You know lightweight, technically driven and all about performance and the driver and he wants to make sure that whatever decision we make it’s the right one in that direction.”

That sounds like Harris has changed Leiter's mind.

“I haven’t changed his mind,” Harris said. "SUVs are an interesting section and a section that continues to grow globally. He’d be naive not to consider that direction but the question of when and how and what is still to be answered.”

Lamborghini's Urus is now the best-selling model in its entire history.

Another question is one of the impact an SUV has within a model range. Do SUVs damage brands such as Porsche and Ferrari which made their name through motorsport and high-end sports cars?

“I wouldn’t say SUVs damage a brand,” Harris said. “But this is the crux of the issue for us. If we do it, it’s got be right. It’s got to be at the right time and the right execution of it to make sure that it is not that way.

“I don’t know. Hopefully for McLaren it would make it wider and more appealing - suddenly we would have the practicality we never had before with two-seater cars.”

The popularity of SUVs has reached the point where nearly all carmakers including high-end luxury brands such as Bentley and Rolls-Royce now have at least one in their line-ups.

Rolls-Royce's Cullinan is the brands most popular model.

In Australia three-out-of-four cars sold are SUVs and in 2022 46 per cent of the cars sold globally were SUVs, with the United States and European markets growing the fastest. 

A look at the sales figures in Australia also show that the biggest-selling models for even the high-end brands are SUVs.

Porsche’s biggest seller is the Macan mid-sized SUV followed by the larger Cayenne, with both each month selling more than double what the iconic 911 sports car sells.

Bentley’s Bentayga large SUV is also the brand's most popular model, so is the Cullinan for Rolls-Royce and for Maserati it’s the medium sized Grecale which sells better than any other model in its range. While for Lamborghini the Urus is now the best-selling model in its entire history.

Maserati Grecale sells better than any other model in its range.

So do SUVs damage a brand that’s made its reputation through sports and luxury cars? 

From a legacy perspective the answer could be yes. Porsche for instance is no longer associated with just the 911. The DNA of that brand has been modified. The same goes for Bentley, Rolls Royce, Lamborghini and now Ferrari.

From a business perspective it’s clear that SUVs are bringing in the most of the profit for these brands and, in some cases, ensuring their survival - so rather than doing damage, they’re doing wonders.

McLaren isn’t in the best financial shape right now with lower than expected sales and, earlier this year, it had to seek support in the form of a A$422 million injection from its majority shareholder - Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat.

From a business perspective it’s clear that SUVs are bringing in the most of the profit for luxury car brands. (AI generated image)

A McLaren SUV would become the carmaker's best-selling model and help the brand recover. 

So while being cautious is important as is staying true to your roots, so is saving the brand from extinction.

Those at McLaren would be wise to listen to Leiters and fast track an SUV, or they’ll be left attempting to preserve the pure DNA of a brand that might not soon exist.