Just sharing my own viewpoint- I think McLaren has a fantastic technological platform- and make some fine sports cars. But, you guys are right- the problem is the marketing. I agree with all the points you’ve al made, but to answer the open queston from ScrappyB above- what happens when you are done going 0-60 in the blink of an eye- you are left with an object in your garage and a community, history, etc, and all the other subjective items. None of that really grabs my imagination with McLaren. Mostly with McLaren I am left a little bit - at an emotional level- confused. (At an intellectual level I can explain the differences of course!). This is the downside of using basically the same technological platform without sufficient differentiation and simply moving too fast with the product roll out. I wonder what is the top McLaren? Is it the P1? Is it the Senna (as discussed here), is it the Speedtail? Is it the Elva? I wonder what singular car can I look to that defines what it means to be “McLaren” in this generation. I can do that for Ferrari- its literally “LaFerrari”. Porsche is a little more tricky but when you talk about hypercars, its clearly the 918. For me the issue with having the top, brand defining, item be a series is each one kind of answers my perceived weaknesses of the prior one. P1 is perhaps too heavy (relatively) due to batteries and hybrid? OK here is Senna- raw power and downforce- except this makes it a bit slower than it would otherwise be- so now here is Speedtail, it is the fastest, but its oriented as a GT? So here is Elva which is the most “pure”. Its a little bit too lacking in focus- again- this is just for me- you might see it differently. I like the Senna, I think its very cool, and I even think in its own way its great looking. But my advice (its free so you know what that’s worth) to McLaren is pick 1 to be your top dog and let that be the focal point. And it should be this car should never be seen as a scaling up of the entry level. I also have admiration for McLaren, in a short time, they have made a go of it in a tough corner of a fierce business, and now in a very challenging time. Maybe its possible to get to a similar level as Ferrari, but its taken Ferrari 70+ years to get here. I would have advised a go slower approach (ironic for a fast cars business [emoji4] ) Anyway, the best car buying advice I’ve ever gotten, which has stood up for decades, multiple crisis, is “buy what you love and can afford”. Cheers and happy holidays to everyone! Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat
I think McLaren have taken some steps in the right direction in terms of customer assurance. For example their new Artura comes with an unbeatable 5 year warranty as well as a 3 year maintenance package. This will go a long way to entice new buyers who were sitting patiently on the fence.
Great post @Caeruleus11 I fully appreciate how many collector/enthusiasts don’t feel the same gravitational pull towards McLaren as they do with other brands. These aren’t logical purchases so there is no right or wrong answer. Personally, I don’t get attached to brands or the romanticism of their history because I know all these companies have evolved over time into profit focused conglomerates that are far removed from their origins. By rights I should be focused exclusively on collecting Porsches given my family history in motorsports. I don’t spend much time trying to understand a brand’s product strategies in a given moment and rather focus on the models I like. The rest of their lineup fades into the background and I never think about them or why the exist etc.. In short, for me it’s more about the car than the company. Being relatively brand agnostic means my collection has become an eclectic mish mash of cars that look, sound and drive very different to one another. Variety is the spice of life
I so much loved 570s that I actually wrote the letter to head of marketing saying that Mclaren should improve such and such area so that car guys like me would convert to Mclaren fan but only to get an answer that I should speak to dealer and not complain or write a letter to them directly. I said OK fine and sold 570s right after. Shame their car is so good and their customer relation is so bad. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
This is so typical of Mclaren its laughable. A good friend had all kinds of trouble with his 675LT and they totally blew him off.
Not to jump on the bandwagon, but my P1 has not been unusable for a year due to the electric motor leaking into the clutch, then a delay for six months on a part that could fix it, and now, as they’ve decided the part won’t fix it, waiting for the entire assembly which they say will be three more months. Oh, then $154,000.
There is no bandwagon, McLaren unreliability with difficult repairs is a well documented. Many pe3rsonal friends of mine have had similar.
Yes but the warranty package doesn’t necessarily make for happy clients if your car is in the workshop every month getting fixed for free! Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat
Oh it's a bandwagon, not one person states how their Senna or friends was unreliable. Senna performance reliability speaks for itself and Ferrari chose not to compete because they couldn't - it's really that simple. Ferrari is a GT factory, the days of light ICE sports cars have been over for a long time and the V12 is next to go. Suggest getting used to the fact these two factories will be building similar cars going forward. Ordered 812GTS & SF90 AF Spider beautiful GT's both near 4000 lbs The SP3 vs SF90 at 1/4 price eaks volumes and will reflect why the Senna will be coveted for years.
I haven’t seen any posts go to the gutter. The comments are about McLaren general unreliability which is undisputed. I owned three and two had serious issues. Also as you know a number of Sennas had issues with fire. Ferrari chose not to compete because it simply doesn’t need to. McLaren is not a threat to Ferrari; Ferrari cannot deliver cars fast enough, McLaren call every person they know to buy an Elva It is really that simple Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
Please elaborate on that last part. That's an interesting perspective. You say Ferrari chose to not compete with the Senna because they couldn't. What makes you say that? Also, when you are done elaborating, please answer this. Don't you think Ferrari could create a road legal car based off of the 488 Challenge Evo with 800+hp that would run with the Senna? Sent from my SM-G930F using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Thank you for your reply. 100 days at Thermal is a huge number, that is amazing! I am headed there in March for the Piloti course. After this I am Planning on doing a day with the Pista and TDF and hoping to purchase a LaF by then too. Getting there from Beverly Hills is a bit painful for me. Do you drive or Chopper? Very interesting about the 918 I would have thought this had a heap of weight penalty too. May the Horse be with you
For someone like you that has the most bonkers car collection I can see how this whole fiasco could be palatable as you can always grab the keys to something else to drive whilst it is being fixed. Perhaps not the $154k….. Most mortals that stretched to buy a P1 would be bleeding over this. May the Horse be with you
lol. “Undisputed “ and yet you supposedly bought 3 of them. So many clueless posters on car forums … fwiw; Im about to get my 13th delivered next month . my dealer has over 75 customers who have purchased 3 brand new Mclaren’s in the last 5 years
Bottom line is Mac guys know Ferrari but most Ferrari guys don't know Mac. Mclaren's in house carbon monocell and CNC in house tech center - results are 45% less weight than aluminum. Mclaren has been a chassis builder for 40 years and applies that tech to their road cars - add MSO their carbon cars and designs are world class. Love Ferrari engines design and F1 heritage - SF90 812GTS are just shy of 4k lbs of which I ordered both and will enjoy them for a long time. As far as Ferrari selling every car - they opened up a dealer in my hometown and opening two others in the midwest. One might think they need more dealers to sell more cars ...
I’m on my 5th McLaren (4 from new) and will continue buying them. Have they been faultless? No, but neither have my Ferraris. One just needs to visit the SF90 forum to see some of the issues facing that model.
I did not express an opinion on people‘s knowledge, however you deem it acceptable to call another Fchat member clueless without knowing them. You also deem it acceptable to insinuate that your fellow Fchat member is lying about the three cars they bought from McLaren (using the word “supposedly”) and finally you consider it acceptable to look down on your fellow Fchat member by telling them you are on your 13th McLaren and your dealer has 75 clients who bought three new cars each. It is probably because to you every statement of fact (which is all my comment was) is an opportunity to show off. We are not all the same I hope one day you will realize that manners are more important than money. You may also realize that this is a Ferrari forum and if you want to check my knowledge and buying history you can see my previous posts or ask some of the other long standing “clued-up” Fchat members here Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
You don't necessarily come across in a respectful manner either so maybe start there and perhaps you will get a different response.
