McLaren is finally doing something that would have seemed almost unthinkable not all that long ago. The British supercar maker has confirmed plans for its first performance SUV as part of a massive £500 million, roughly $675 million, investment in its UK manufacturing and engineering operations. The high-riding McLaren is expected to arrive around 2028 and will use a hybrid powertrain from the start, giving the company a direct answer to highly profitable performance models such as the Ferrari Purosangue and Lamborghini Urus.
According to Motor1, the SUV is known internally as the P47 and has already been previewed to McLaren dealers. Reports from those briefings describe a four-door, five-seat vehicle with imposing proportions, highly sculpted bodywork, and a clay model reportedly riding on enormous 24-inch wheels. While McLaren has now officially confirmed that a performance SUV is part of its future product expansion, many of the finer P47 details remain unofficial. What is clear is that this will be unlike anything McLaren Automotive has put into series production before, particularly since the brand has built its road-car identity almost entirely around tightly packaged two-seat performance machines.
The SUV also represents much more than McLaren simply chasing a popular market segment. The company is putting serious money behind a broader transformation of its business. McLaren plans to expand research, development, and production operations in the UK, including its existing South Yorkshire footprint, while also establishing additional vehicle production capacity. Future engines are planned to be manufactured in-house for the first time, along with greater control over transmission development and other major engineering components. That could give McLaren more ownership over the technology beneath its future cars instead of relying as heavily on outside suppliers.
There is also a very obvious business case for venturing beyond traditional supercars. McLaren CEO Nick Collins has spoken about improving the company’s profitability, and premium performance SUVs have already shown how effective they can be at expanding both sales and margins without necessarily abandoning an exotic brand’s core identity. Ferrari’s Purosangue and Lamborghini’s Urus are very different interpretations of the idea, but both demonstrate that customers are willing to spend serious money for something that combines supercar credentials with four doors, additional space, and everyday usability. McLaren now wants its own piece of that market.
Before the P47 arrives, another intriguing McLaren is reportedly in the works. Motor1 reports that dealers have also been briefed on a mid-engine hybrid supercar known internally as P34, with output targeted at around 810 horsepower from a twin-turbocharged V6 hybrid powertrain. That model is expected around 2027 and would form part of a much busier product cycle for McLaren, which is reportedly planning at least one new model introduction per year through 2028. A future front-engine grand tourer has also been linked to the expanding roadmap, suggesting McLaren is preparing to stretch well beyond the familiar Artura and 750S formula.
The scale of the investment makes those product ambitions easier to understand. The UK government says McLaren’s £500 million program is expected to create 1,000 new jobs by 2032, with as many as 3,000 additional jobs potentially supported throughout the broader automotive sector and supply chain. McLaren will also expand its research and production presence in South Yorkshire while adding a new UK vehicle production facility. For a company that has historically operated at relatively low volumes compared with larger exotic-car rivals, this is a substantial industrial expansion rather than simply another model launch.
There will naturally be enthusiasts who question whether a four-door SUV belongs in the same showroom as a 750S, Artura, or whatever follows them. Similar debates surrounded Porsche when the Cayenne arrived and Lamborghini when the Urus appeared, yet both became enormously important products for their respective companies. McLaren appears ready to make the same calculation, only with a hybrid-focused, performance-first approach of its own. If the P47 can feel genuinely like a McLaren from behind the wheel while adding the practicality buyers expect from an SUV, the 2028 arrival could become one of the most consequential new models in the company’s modern history.
Darryl Taylor Dowe is a seasoned automotive professional with a proven track record of leading successful ventures and providing strategic consultation across the automotive industry. With years of hands-on experience in both business operations and market development, Darryl has played a key role in helping automotive brands grow and adapt in a rapidly evolving landscape. His insight and leadership have earned him recognition as a trusted expert, and his contributions to Automotive Addicts reflect his deep knowledge and passion for the business side of the car world.
