McLaren’s First Electric Supercar Is Hiding in a Garage Somewhere

We don’t know what it looks like. But it’s out there.

December 21, 2017 9:00 am

Having announced a number of boundary-pushing projects over the past few months, McLaren clearly intends to consolidate its position at the forefront of automobile innovation in the near future — and that future will live and die by the electric vehicle.

So it comes as no surprise that the British marque just officially confirmed they’re hard at work on their first all-electric supercar.  

In an interview with Autocar, McLaren engineering design director Dan Parry-Williams shared that not only is the British marque working on an e-supercar, but they’ve also already got a prototype in working order. Parry-Williams told the publication that McLaren has “a pure EV [electric vehicle] mule” that’s already completing test runs on the track. However, he cautioned, “there’s still quite a journey from here to there in terms of our products.”

The principal reason we shouldn’t hold our breath to see one on the road or track? Batteries. According to Parry-Williams, an electric battery that can usually supply 500 miles on the road can only handle 30 minutes on the track. To solve that issue, McLaren’s engineers are working on a sustainable battery that can support high-speed driving, but so far, no dice.

Gentlemen, remain at your drawing boards so we can push-button start our engines one day.

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