McLaren is preparing for one of the biggest transformations in its modern history.
The British supercar manufacturer has confirmed a £500 million UK investment programme that will expand its manufacturing footprint, introduce a new performance SUV before the end of the decade and, for the first time, bring engine development and production in-house. The announcement was made on September 16, 2026, and represents a significant change for a company that has built its identity around low-volume, mid-engined supercars. �
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The programme is being funded by L’IMAD, the Abu Dhabi investment arm associated with McLaren’s ownership structure. The investment is part of a broader commitment to McLaren’s future and will support new products, manufacturing capacity and powertrain development. �
Autocar
The SUV Is Finally Official
For years, an SUV from McLaren has been discussed, speculated about and repeatedly linked to the company’s future.
Now it is confirmed.
McLaren says a performance SUV will arrive before 2030, although the company has not yet released the production vehicle’s name, styling or detailed technical specifications. The SUV will use a new architecture and is planned around a McLaren-developed hybrid powertrain. �
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That distinction is important. At this stage, there is no official production image or confirmed final design to show. Several renderings circulating online are speculative rather than McLaren-released imagery.
The SUV will also represent a major departure from McLaren’s traditional formula. The company has historically concentrated on mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports and supercars. Its future product strategy will introduce front-engined vehicles and potentially all-wheel-drive models. �
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A Second British Factory
The SUV requires something McLaren’s existing production operation cannot provide on its own: considerably more manufacturing capacity.
McLaren plans to establish a second UK vehicle assembly facility alongside its existing McLaren Production Centre in Woking. The location of the new factory has not yet been announced.
The Woking facility produced approximately 2,000 cars in 2025, according to reporting on McLaren’s expansion plans. The new facility is intended to accommodate the company’s move into additional vehicle segments and increased production. �
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McLaren has also confirmed that its existing Woking operation will be expanded, while its carbon-fibre facility in Sheffield will receive additional investment. �
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That means this isn’t simply a new-model announcement. McLaren is restructuring the physical infrastructure behind the brand.
McLaren Is Bringing Engines In-House
Perhaps the most significant part of the announcement is hiding behind the SUV headline.
McLaren is preparing to develop and manufacture its own engines in-house.
Until now, McLaren’s road-car engines have been developed and manufactured through its relationship with British engineering company Ricardo. That relationship dates back to McLaren’s modern road-car programme and includes the powerplants used across the company’s current generation of vehicles. �
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Future McLaren engines will instead be developed and produced within McLaren.
The company has confirmed plans for two new combustion-engine programmes and associated transmissions, with the engines forming part of its hybrid strategy. McLaren has not yet disclosed their cylinder configuration, displacement or final output figures. �
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The existing relationship with Ricardo is not simply disappearing. McLaren has indicated that Ricardo will continue to work with the company on other engineering programmes, but future McLaren engines will increasingly move under McLaren’s own control. �
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Hybrid, But Not Immediately Fully Electric
McLaren’s next generation is being planned around hybrid power rather than an immediate switch to fully electric propulsion.
The company has not ruled out an EV. Instead, McLaren executives have said that the company wants to introduce an electric vehicle when the market and customer demand make the timing appropriate. �
Autocar
That is significant because McLaren has already gained experience with high-performance hybrid technology through cars such as the Artura and W1.
For now, however, the confirmed roadmap centres on combustion engines working with hybrid systems.
Thousands of Jobs
The expansion is also expected to have an impact beyond McLaren’s existing workforce.
The programme is expected to create at least 1,000 jobs within and around McLaren, with a further 3,000 jobs potentially supported across the supply chain. �
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McLaren has indicated that recruitment will include apprenticeships, graduate programmes and internships, alongside experienced personnel.
The company’s expansion comes at an interesting moment for the British automotive industry, with other manufacturers simultaneously restructuring their operations and workforce.
What Happens to the Current McLaren Line-Up?
McLaren’s expansion does not mean that the traditional supercar disappears.
The company’s future strategy is expected to operate across three broad areas: its core supercars, the new front-engined SUV and related models, and its highest-level Ultimate Series products such as the W1. �
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That means McLaren isn’t abandoning the cars that established its modern identity.
Instead, the company is attempting to build a considerably broader business around them.
Recent reporting has also indicated that the Artura, GTS and 750S are expected to be phased out by the end of 2028 as McLaren prepares for its next generation of products. �
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The exact successors and their specifications remain a matter for McLaren to reveal.
The Bigger Picture
The obvious headline is simple: McLaren is building an SUV.
But the more consequential story is what comes with it.
A second British assembly plant. Expansion at Woking. Additional investment in Sheffield. New hybrid powertrains. Engine and transmission production moving in-house. A much broader model strategy. Thousands of potential jobs.
For a company historically associated with relatively small production volumes and highly specialised supercars, this represents a substantial change in scale.
And McLaren is making clear that the future will still be British-built.
The company has said the investment is intended to ensure that the next generation of McLaren Automotive cars will be built in Britain, including the forthcoming SUV. �
Autocar
The SUV itself remains largely unknown. McLaren has not yet shown the finished vehicle, revealed its name, announced its price or provided final technical specifications.
What is known is that McLaren is no longer simply preparing another supercar.
It is preparing an entirely broader version of itself.
