McLaren Automotive surprised the media during Car Week in Monterey when it unveiled a rendering of a new top range sleek open-cockpit roadster.
The as-yet-unnamed striking two-seater is expected to join in about 18 months McLaren's top tier Ultimate Series which currently includes the Senna, the GTR and the awaited Speedtail designs.
What is also known is that the new dramatically styled roadster will use a twin-turbocharged version of the Senna's V8 power unit - with no hybrid component - while a carbonfibre chassis will make it the lightest car ever produced by the Woking marque.
McLaren Automotive boss Mike Flewitt offered some insight on his company's future addition to its Ultimate Series.
“The demand for the more exclusive, higher-end vehicles is much stronger than anything else.
"In a sense it’s almost harder in the more competitive area, like Sport Series, where there’s some serious established competition.
"So, for the next Ultimate it was about coming up with a new, exciting concept, not just doing Senna 2.0, Speedtail 2.0. Something different. So we came up with this idea for a car, an open cockpit roadster.
"It’s not a hybrid - we looked at that but it adds a lot of weight. It’s quite minimalist in terms of the screen and roof. It’s not a high downforce car like the Senna."
According to McLaren, its bold new roadster will take "road-focused driving pleasure to new levels".
