auto blog

Although McLaren's next supercar is expected to be very different from the SLR, the company made in conjunction with Mercedes-Benz, one element will carry over: derivatives. It's one thing that the SLR cannot seem to let go of, breeding six different versions so far, and the upcoming P11 supercar is anticipated to breed at least a couple of versions of its own.

Predictably, the first will likely be a convertible. If Frank Stephenson designs the P11 with a drop-top variant in mind from the start, both models should benefit structurally. The second is anticipated to be a racing version, and although the original McLaren F1 begat a highly successful GTR version (and subsequently re-road-ized LM model), the SLR never went racing despite breeding a track-oriented 722 GT version. A racing-spec McLaren P11 (or whatever name it is eventually given) could prove highly successful in a sportscar racing series, however, it would likely be offered as a customer car instead of a factory works team so as not to distract McLaren from its never-ending pursuit of the Formula One championship, which it is leading now but incredibly it has not won since 1999.