McLaren, in its current form, is a comparative youngster among supercar companies, having launched its first model, the MP4-12C, in 2011. Despite that, it makes some of the best, most engaging supercars on the market, but behind the scenes, things haven’t exactly been plain sailing for the company.
Now, in an attempt to right its course, McLaren is being merged with a luxury UK-based EV startup under the control of CYVN Holdings, the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm that recently took it over.
McLaren 750S
The startup in question is Forseven, which you likely haven’t heard of unless you live in the UK and have job alerts set up for pretty much anything in the automotive sector. The company has spent the last three years in ‘stealth mode’, assembling a 700-strong team of industry professionals ahead of a full launch.
That launch, it now transpires, will likely go ahead with the in-development products under the McLaren badge. So firstly, you can relax – the McLaren name isn’t going anywhere, nor is it going to go all electric. What this merger’s primarily concerned with is expanding the McLaren brand into other market segments. That likely means the long-mooted McLaren SUV is closer than ever to fruition.
McLaren Artura Spider
The merger is also concerned with improving the McLaren customer experience and streamlining the company’s operations, with new CEO Nick Collins – with industry experience at Ford and JLR – saying: “We have a clear strategy to achieve our vision, and we will move at an incredible pace to do so.”
Where it starts to get really interesting is in the other companies CYVN has stakes in, and plans to leverage know-how from for McLaren. One is Chinese EV startup Nio, whose EP9 hypercar once held a Nürburgring lap record, and whose electrification tech McLaren will now have access to.
McLaren Technology Centre
CYVN also controls none other than Gordon Murray Technologies, one of the group of companies founded by the man behind the McLaren F1. Murray’s incredible engineering and lightweighting nous should also benefit future McLarens.
Finally, CYVN also has a non-controlling stake in the racing division of McLaren, including its F1, IndyCar and Formula E efforts plus its prospective Le Mans bid.
It’s a fundamental change for McLaren, then, but hopefully, it’ll help set it up as a sustainable business to match the sensational cars it makes. We’ll hear more on the merger throughout 2025.
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