Mclaren set to expand with new $120k P13

                                                  Mclaren has gone public about its intention to launch a new sport car aimed squarely at the Porche 911 turbo.

                                                  Known internally as p13, the new model will be mclaren’s core sports car. It will cost about  120,000 euro and equipped with a 3.8l V8 with about 450bhp. The target is for total sales of up to 2500 unit per year when it gone on sale in 2015.

                                                   Mclaren chief Ron Dennis confirmed the p13’s existence as the smallest model below the 12c supercar and p1 hyper car as part or a three-strong model line-up.

 Dennis said that the positioning of the car was very much up for discussion. however, several senior company sources that have worked on the project for almost a decade confirmed to autocar that the 911 turbo was the model very much in the sight of the P13.

                                                   This is based around McLaren’s view that there is little choice available to those in the market for a high-performance sports car that costs between 100,000 euro  and  150,000 euro.

For instance, the standard Porsche 911 range, audi R8 and aston Martin Vantage all come in below 100,000 euro and have accessible performance, yet the next rung of supercars –such as the Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes-Benz SLS, Ferrari 458 Italia and the 12C itself- are all deep into the 150,000euro and above bracket, with a harder, more focused edge to match Mclaren’s thinking is that there is a huge gap in the performance car market for something that mixes that harder edge while maintaining everyday usability-something that only the 911 Turbo can claim to have at present. Performance cars in the 120,000 euro or so bracket-the Aston Martin DB9 and Bentley Continental GT-are more GTs than sports cars.

One insider said: ”The truth is, if you have 120,000euro to spend on a sports car, you’d still end up going for a Porsche 911,even though you can get”