McLaren has signalled that the car replacing its 750S supercar will be called the McL 820, and that it will produce around 809bhp. The teaser came via a giant sculpture of the company's kiwi mascot, placed in London's Covent Garden on 29 October as part of a new marketing campaign.
The new supercar is due next year and would be McLaren's first series-production model since the brand was acquired by Abu Dhabi investment fund L'imad. It could also be the first mainstream model to adopt the 'McL' naming style introduced on the limited-run, manual-equipped McL 6GT.
A name hidden on a kiwi statue
McLaren concealed the McL 820 moniker on the sculpture rather than announcing it outright. The kiwi is a nod to founder Bruce McLaren, the New Zealand-born racer who used the flightless bird as the emblem of his racing team, which later gave rise to the road car business.
The stunt fits a wider push by McLaren to lean on its heritage. The company has adopted a new logo and typeface based on the signage of its original workshop, and the 'McL' initialism used on the 6GT now appears set to spread to the core range.
The naming hint lands as McLaren prepares for substantial expansion: it is building a second UK factory, will begin assembling its own engines in-house, and intends to broaden its line-up with new models.
Hybrid V8 power, in-house engines
The McL 820 is expected to use one of two new hybrid powertrains McLaren is developing and building itself for the first time. Those units are likely to be V8-based, with the power figure carried in the model name, as is standard McLaren practice.
The 820 in the name denotes 820PS, which converts to 809bhp. That would make it the most powerful series-production car Woking has built, with output in the same territory as the V12-engined Ferrari 12Cilindri and Aston Martin Vanquish, and as mid-engined rivals such as the Ferrari 296 and Lamborghini Temerario.
McLaren chief operating officer Michael Straughan has said the new engines are "obviously going to start with the current V8 products or the future generation of that". The emphasis on hybrid V8 power rather than full electrification keeps the focus on lightness and purity, in keeping with the 720S replacement's brief.
The 750S signs off after a decade
The McL 820 will take the place of the 750S, which retires next year after a decade on sale in various forms, starting with the 720S and including the run-out 788HS. McLaren has said it is taking final orders for the car.
The new model is due around the same time McLaren winds down production of its other two core models, the Artura V6 supercar and the more luxury-oriented GT. Replacements for those two have not been detailed.
Straughan has said McLaren will not take a production pause like the one Jaguar implemented. "A small company like McLaren can't afford that," he said, adding that new products will be phased in "as quickly as we possibly can" and that it's "not too far away".
Traditional supercars will form one of three pillars of the future McLaren range, alongside a front-engined SUV aimed at the Porsche Cayenne and continued limited-run Ultimate Series cars such as the W1.
McLaren has not announced an exact on-sale date or pricing for the McL 820. The sources confirm only that it is due next year, so buyers will learn the sticker price closer to the launch.
