McLaren Automotive, the legendary British supercar brand, is all set to officially set foot into the Indian market. Sources suggest that the brand will commence sales in India with a 'very special car' and around eight to nine units of various McLaren models are already into the order books for Indian customers. These are expected to arrive in the last quarter of the year.
McLaren is no stranger to us Indians, thanks to Formula 1 and McLaren's legendary cars. McLaren's first road car, the iconic F1, came out in 1992. It was their first and only road car for the longest time until it partnered with Mercedes, to introduce the SLR in 2003. The McLaren Automotive brand – dedicated to making road cars – was established in 2010 and its first car was the MP4-12C. Currently, the McLaren model range is classified into a number of categories — GT, Sports Series, Super Series and Ultimate Series. The GT range includes the McLaren GT. The Super Series comprises the 720S, 720S Spider, 765LT and the new Artura hybrid. The Sports Series consists of models — 540C, 570GT, 570S, 570S Spider, 600LT and 600LT Spider – though McLaren has confirmed that the Sports Series range has been discontinued. The range topping and highly exclusive Ultimate Series consists of the Senna, Senna GTR, Speedtail and the Elva Speedster.
McLaren's absence in the Indian market hasn't stopped keen enthusiasts from getting McLaren cars to India. Ranjit Sundaramurthy aka RSM from Bangalore, bought the first McLaren to India, a 720S with the carnet scheme. This scheme allows imported cars to be driven for a certain period of time in India, before they have to be shipped back to their country of origin. Gautam Singhania, also with carnet, has bought three McLarens to the country, a 720S, 570S and even the Senna, exclusively for the 2019 Parx Supercar show. Parveen Agarwal, founder of Club GT, has officially registered a McLaren 570S in his hometown of Kolkata. This is the very car which helped us find India's fastest road.
An official word from McLaren still remains to be heard about their Indian entry and so does the model and price list for the market. Stay tuned to evo India on all platforms, as we will bring you more information as it gets finalised.