Last year, McLaren surprised us all when they announced that they would be working on a "Grand Tourer" vehicle. For a brand who built their fame by producing sleek two-seater super cars, the thought of a Grand Tourer seems uncharacteristic.
Yet, here we are waiting with baited breath to see McLaren's take on a comfortable long distance sports car. When McLaren made the announcement they did show off their prototype. However, it was not only disguised with the obligatory wrap, it also had plastic panels attached to hide body lines.
We got a new look at the McLaren Gran Tourer today as the plastic panels were removed for new photos. The camo wrap remains but at least we can now get a closer look at the McLaren Grand Tourer's shape. It seems that this was done to serve two purposes: to start final testing, and I suspect to get a feel for the public reaction.
In the meantime, the team is taking the prototype on a 1,000 mile road trip. It will be driving from a McLaren development base in Barcelona, Spain, all the way back to their England HQ.
McLaren promises that they will remove the camo wrap in May so we can all get a full look. Until then, I think there is enough here to comfortably speculate. While none of the included pictures are close up or that detailed, it does seem (from far away at least) that a few design cues from the Speedtail made their way to the Grand Tourer.
Despite that, McLaren Grand Tourer won't be part of any existing model series. Instead it will the be beginning of a whole new series. Who knows? Perhaps McLaren may actually dabble in luxury sedans in the future?
Crazy, I know but never say "never".