Unsurprisingly, battery limitations are in the way.
British sports car specialists McLaren have long harboured a desire to build an all-electric supercar, and it’s something that they’ve been working on for some time. Admittedly, it’s far easier to lump in an electric powertrain and their associated batteries when you’re making a hatchback, or an SUV, rather than a super-sports car, largely due to the tolerances and requirements that that sort of performance demands.
“We’ve got a pure EV mule, and part of the reason for that is to ask how we can deliver driver engagement in a fully-electric world. But there’s still quite a journey from here to there in terms of our products.” - Dan Parry-Williams, Engineering Design Director, McLaren Automotive
The disparity between on-road demands and on-track demands are clear to see, as Parry-Williams explained to Autocar.
“Let’s say you want to drive on track for half an hour. If that was an EV, that car would have over [800km] of range, and it would be flat as a pancake at the end. The energy required to do really high performance on track is staggering. And then you have to recharge it.” - Dan Parry-Williams, Engineering Design Director, McLaren Automotive
What’s clear is that while McLaren does have an EV on the burner, it has to simmer for a while longer before it’ll be ready for the road. Thankfully, strides in battery technology are being made every day, so perhaps with the right breakthroughs, a fully-electric McLaren might come to fruition sooner rather than later.
Can’t say we won’t miss the soundtrack, though.
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