BMW and McLaren could work together again, decades after the most iconic supercar of all time – the McLaren F1 – was developed. McLaren and BMW are in talks to develop a joint electric sports car architecture, according to a new report from Automotive News Europe.
In the early ’00s, BMW’s Paul Roche was the only person willing to take up the challenge of creating a naturally-aspiring V12 – the Godfather of Gordon Murray – the Godfather of the F1 – at over 100 horsepower per liter. It was a glorious engine that is considered to be the greatest internal combustion engine of all time. However, with an engine from Cosworth, it could soon be deactivated by Murray’s upcoming project. This time, though, BMW won’t just build an engine for McLaren.
Instead, the two brands reportedly talked about creating a complete architecture together for an upcoming electric sports car or for multiple architectures. Whether the brands work on a single sports car like the McLaren F1, a single chassis that can make a sports car from each brand like the BMW Z4 / Toyota Supra, or a flexible architecture that can be used for different vehicles. It is not clear. What has been said so far is that the two brands are discussing a partnership in an EV architecture.
Although, it could all be for zero. McLaren is negotiating with Audi and, if those negotiations prove fruitful, the latter will buy a larger stake in the former. If Audi – one of BMW’s biggest competitors – buys a large stake in McLaren, any previous agreement with BMW must be terminated.
As a car enthusiast, it would be great to see Audi buy a large stake in McLaren, as it would give Audi an F1 team (which is Audi’s primary goal in acquiring McLaren) and that would be great. While BMW as enthusiastic, it would be incredible for the two brands to be priced together again. It would be great to see BMW and McLaren create magic once before (admittedly, McLaren was led by Gordon Murray).
[Source: Automotive News Europe]