MANAMA: British luxury carmaker McLaren is aiming to make its products more accessible to buyers as part of a new drive, according to a top company official in Bahrain.
With the launch of the McLaren 570S and 570GT at a starting price of BD75,000 and BD82,000, respectively, the brand hopes to attract more car enthusiasts in the kingdom.
“What the 570 has done is, it has brought McLaren within the reach of a wider group of would-be buyers,” said McLaren Bahrain head Trevor Fletcher.
“Prior to the 570, the starting price of a McLaren was quite high – BD100,000 plus – but the McLaren 570 has brought it down to around BD75,000,” he told the GDN in an exclusive interview.
“If you consider a high-end Porsche sports car – a buyer who can afford to spend that kind of money on 911 Turbo or 911S he can have access to the McLaren supercars.
“The 570 is an entryway for a car enthusiast into the supercar category.
“You’ll find that even in tough times – and we are going through a tough economic spell at the moment and the automotive industry in general is down in the GCC, not just in Bahrain – there are people who have money continue to spend on what they like.
“Of course, we’re new to the supercar business but we are selling cars.”
Under a new global strategy, dubbed Track22, because it leads up to the year 2022, McLaren will be investing £1 billion in research and development and launch 15 new models, said Mr Fletcher.
It also plans to produce 4,500 cars a year in the period at its facility in Woking, the UK.
Since Kanoo Motors took over as retail partner of McLaren from Al Ghassan Motors in November, the company has been eager to improve its presence in the kingdom, he said.
“We’ve built a brand-new after-sales centre in Tubli, a state-of-the-art facility which will eventually be a 4S facility – showroom, body shop, spare-parts and service.
“It will be arguably one of the best after-sales facilities in Bahrain bar none and used as a training hub for McLaren in the GCC.”
The new partnership marks the beginning of a new era for McLaren in Bahrain, said Mr Fletcher.
“As a Bahraini company, we are proud to be associated with this legendary brand, which already has strong ties to the Kingdom,” he said.
“In fact, with 57 per cent of its shares being owned by Mumtalakat and Bahrain being the headquarters for McLaren’s Africa, Middle East and South America operations, you could almost say that McLaren is a Bahraini car.”
ghazi@gdn.com.bh