McLaren will retire its Artura and GTS over the next two years as it lays the groundwork for a new and expanded line-up of models.
Following the company's announcement earlier this week of a major £500 million expansion strategy, Autocar has learned that two of its three core models will be phased out by the end of 2028.
McLaren's mid-engined grand tourer will depart first, with production tipped to wind down in 2027.
The carbonfibre-tubbed, V8, two-seat GT was introduced in 2019 as a more spacious and luxuriously appointed alternative to McLaren's existing supercars - giving Woking a rival for the Aston Martin DB12 and Ferrari Amalfi.
Updated in 2024 and renamed the GTS (pictured below), it's today understood to account for around 10% of McLaren's annual output – equivalent to around 300 cars.
McLaren has been tight-lipped on the make-up of its new-era line-up, but Autocar understands that the front-engined architecture that underpins its forthcoming SUV could be used for other models, possibly paving the way for a more traditional four-seat GT in the vein of the Bentley Continental.
The V6 hybrid Artura will follow the GTS into retirement in 2028, some six years after its launch. McLaren's answer to the Ferrari 296 had a shaky start in life, its launch delayed by development issues and then hamstrung by the global semiconductor supply crisis.
But a series of fixes and upgrades mean that it's today among the most capable and acclaimed cars in its class, and it's an important volume contributor for McLaren.
The brand doesn't break out sales figures by model, but it's understood to roughly match the V8-powered 750S flagship – McLaren’s other series-production car – in sales terms.
Plans for a successor remain to be confirmed, although the company has committed to continuing with rear-engined, two-seat supercars in its new era and is developing a pair of bespoke hybrid powertrains that will power them.
The company hasn't given any precise details of their make-up, but COO Michael Straughan suggested that developing its own engines in-house means “we don't have to be constrained by a V6 and a V8 in the future”.
A recent report from Automotive News, citing a McLaren retailer with knowledge of upcoming models, said a new supercar will arrive by 2028 with a twin-turbo hybrid V6 producing 800lb ft of torque - more than the Artura.
