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News: McLaren Officially Announces Second Gen Super Series

Ever since the MP4-12C back in 2011, McLaren Automotive has been frequently and consistently kicking butt in the super car market. And even though it seems like just yesterday the 675LT was impressing critics, McLaren has officially announced that the second generation of their Super Series which is basically all of the “600” cars (675LT, 650S).  While it isn’t really a surprise that the Super Series would see an upgrade, it is pretty surprising that McLaren announced that the next generation of the series will be making its debut as early as March of this year at the Geneva Motor Show.

In the meantime McLaren is giving the world a pretty good look at the new Super Series’ underpinnings.  The “Monocage II” is the next generation of the carbon fiber monocoque that the current Super Series is built on.  As expected the Monocage II is lighter and more rigid than the Monocage I but further improvements have been made beyond the obvious.  For example one of the biggest complaints about the Monocage I was its high side sills which made it somewhat tricky to get in and out of the vehicle.  Monocage II has lower sills to make it much easier to get in and out of the next gen of cars.  McLaren also promises that the new chassis will provide a lower center of gravity and greater driver visibility.

Now all we need to know is what the heck this thing is going to look like and what kind of motor it will have.  I guess we’ll have to wait until this spring to find out though.

mclarenautomotive_monocageii

For now, if you want to learn a little more about the Monocage II chassis, check out the press release below.  For an HD resolution picture of the tub, just click the thumbnail above.

Press Release:

  • New McLaren supercar will debut on March 7 at the 87th Geneva International Motor Show
  • Second generation of the Super Series is McLaren Automotive’s first-ever replacement of a product family and the first of the 15 new cars defined in the company’s Track22 Business Plan
  • New carbon fibre Monocage II body structure delivers extreme strength and contributes to the car’s light weight

 

A new era will begin for McLaren Automotive this March with the launch of the second generation of its Super Series at the 87th Geneva International Motor Show. The first of the 15 new cars cited in the company’s Track22 Business Plan, the second-generation Super Series is also the first replacement of a product family by the British manufacturer of luxury sports and supercars.

“Super Series is the core of the McLaren business and personifies the blend of extreme performance, crafted luxury and unparalleled driver involvement that is the McLaren heartland,” explained McLaren Automotive CEO, Mike Flewitt. “This is the first time we have replaced a product family and the new Super Series will be absolutely true to McLaren’s pioneering spirit in being a revolutionary leap forwards, both for our brand and the supercar segment.”

The new Super Series is created around an ultra-lightweight, carbon fibre central structure. Immensely rigid, yet weighing less than the carbon fibre and metal cockpit architecture of the first-generation Super Series, the Monocage II contributes to a lightest dry weight of just 1,283kg for the new car – lower than the closest competitor and 18kg lighter than a McLaren 650S with comparable specification.

The development of Monocage II has allowed McLaren to incorporate a wider cabin entrance and lower sill to improve access into a driver environment that will offer excellent all-round visibility. The new chassis structure also enables a lower centre of gravity, further sharpening the dynamic performance of the new Super Series. Owners wishing to showcase the carbon-fibre construction chassis can specify a ‘Visible Monocage’ option that exposes the material on the inside area of the A-pillar.

The Super Series lineage began in 2011 with the launch of the groundbreaking 12C. The 12C Spider followed in 2012 and in 2014 McLaren introduced the 650S Coupé and 650S Spider. The first generation of the McLaren Super Series was further expanded in 2015 with the launch of the limited edition 675LT Coupé and 675LT Spider.

Full details of the new, second-generation Super Series will be confirmed in March, when further images and pricing will also be available.

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