Why McLaren Wants Its Supercars to Sell for Higher Prices

The cost of getting behind the wheel of a McClaren could be on the rise in the very near future.

The British marque’s CEO Michael Leiters has revealed that the average cost of one of its vehicles exceeds $300,000. That’s a lot, but the brand is currently exploring ways to bump that figure up.

The executive dropped the tidbit during a recent interview with Automotive News Europe (via Motor1.com) last week. During the conversation, Leiters said that the average price of one of the company’s supercars was £240,000, or roughly $314,000, last year. He also made clear that the company, which is now fully owned by Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, would like that number to be higher—and believes it will be in 2024.

That’s because the 750S (picture up top), which starts around $325,000, has been one of the brand’s best sellers this year, as opposed to the comparatively more “affordable” Artura, which starts closer to $230,000, and dominated the company’s sales sheet in 2023. There’s also the brand’s Ultimate Series, which includes ultra-exclusive models like the Elva ($1.7 million) or Senna GTR ($1.8 million), that carry seven-figure price tags, as well as the even more expensive Solus GT ($4 million).

A shortcut to better margins, would, of course, be to raise prices, but Leiters says that “doesn’t make sense” unless the cars the company builds were to appreciably change. What McLaren will try to do, is emphasize the “scarcity and exclusivity” of its vehicles. This doesn’t mean cutting the number of supercars it builds, but it could mean that more production runs are more closely tied to orders, something the brand is already doing with the 720S.

That also doesn’t mean the brand’s lineup will be shrinking anytime soon, though. In fact, it could expand in the very near future. Leiters also referred to the possibility of adding a 2+2 or SUV to the brand’s offerings, something which he’s brought up in past interviews. The executive didn’t have any concrete details to offer about either potential model but did say that such vehicles could be based on another automaker’s platform. He even said that McLaren has gone as far as talking to automakers about such a partnership.