McLaren's New CEO Nick Collins Says Design Is an Increasing Priority, and the V-8 Is Sticking Around

McLaren Automotive

New McLaren CEO Nick Collins is working to implement strategic changes to help the brand prosper, as he told C/D at Monterey Car Week.
Expanding beyond two-seat models is on the table, and design will be an increasing priority.
A future EV is not entirely out of the question, but the V-8 is not going anywhere, Collins confirmed.

In April, CYVN Holdings, an Abu Dhabi investment firm, acquired McLaren. With that acquisition came a new CEO, Nick Collins, who’s spent the bulk of his career at Ford and Jaguar Land Rover. During Monterey Car Week was our first chance to ask him about how he plans to shape the future of the McLaren brand.Immediately after the deal closed, McLaren paid off all its debt, which allows it, according to Collins, to be able to make long-term strategic decisions for the health of the brand. The first tough decision was to drastically reduce production, from 3000 cars in 2024 to 2000 in 2025 to shore up residual values by making sure supply doesn’t exceed demand. “It’s not that we’re going to stay static at that level,” says Collins, but “we want to get stable and then grow.”A British startup called Forseven that had been gobbling up automotive talent also merged with McLaren as part of the purchase, and that company had already acquired Gordon Murray Technologies, the non-supercar-making part of Gordon Murray’s business that had been working on lightweight technology and electrification. What does Forseven with its 700 employees bring to the table? A lot of design expertise, according to Collins, and McLaren is in the process of setting up a “state of the art” design studio. Collins sees design as a source of increased effort going forward, and something that had been lacking in its Woking headquarters’ infrastructure in the past. He also is frank about “there’s not enough differentiation” among today’s lineup of mid-engine supercars.In addition, he said the brand needs to expand beyond two-seat models, although Collins wouldn’t specify whether that means finally adding a McLaren SUV. But they’ve certainly noticed that plenty of its customers also have a Lamborghini Urus, Range Rover, or other high-end SUV in their fleet.A Multi-Propulsion StrategyWhat about an EV? The future is a “multi-propulsion” strategy, with Collins citing internal combustion and hybrids as the prominent options for “a very long period of time.” He also suggested that if and when the brand does launch an EV, it could be limited to a specific geography that’s favorable, such as China. Collins also confirmed the V-8 isn’t going anywhere. The 916-hp twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 powering the W1 is an all-new engine, one that created a step change in specific output, leaping to a whopping 229.6 hp per liter, up from 185.3 hp/liter in the 750S’s 4.0-liter V-8. Collins says he sees other uses for this engine in other applications going forward, and that the V-8 has a lot of life left.When asked if low curb weights will continue to be a priority going forward, he said: “I think it has to be. It’s not about weight for the sake of weight, but what it unlocks in terms of the spirit of the car.” He added, “You can play tricks to mask it, but it’s never as pure as a car that’s light in the first place.” Amen. But he wants to make smart tradeoffs and not blindly hit a weight target, citing a recent example of an NVH issue in a forthcoming model that he wanted eradicated. The fix added about six pounds of mass, but he is okay with the tradeoff.When will we see the results of the new McLaren? “Sooner than you think,” says Collins, explaining that even with some programs that were already in the pipeline they’ve decided to spend additional money to make them better. “More design, more technology, more quality, more attribute integrity, and a more rounded elevated experience.”From the C/D Archive