New McLaren Sports Series (P13) first photo

Just a few days after McLaren confirmed that the production version of the P13 ‘budget’ McLaren will be called the Sports Series, we get the first photo.

Just a day after the McLaren Sports Series was confirmed as the long-awaited ‘budget’ McLaren, and the production version of what we’ve referred to until now as the McLaren P13, McLaren has delivered the first photo of the Sports Series (above).

Sadly, about all we can tell from the photo is that the Sports Series will probably look like the little brother of the 650S and P1, have some curves, lights, wheels and a windscreen. Beyond that, the photo doesn’t help much.

Of course, what we do know is that the Sports Series will be another take on the same recipe as the two other cars in the McLaren range (think Aston Martin’s ideas on model separation), with the same carbon fibre tub, same visual cues and even the same 3.8 litre V8 as the P1 and 650S.

That the Sports Series is fundamentally the same under the skin as the 650S certainly won’t do its sales any harm, particularly as it’s set to come to the market at around £120-125k to take on high-end Porsche 911s, Audi R8s and AMG GTs, but we can’t help thinking a chunk of those sales may well come from prospective 650S buyers who can’t quite see the £75k price difference.

Still, if McLaren are to hit their target of 4,000 cars a year they’re going to need more than the £200k (+) 650S (the P1 will end production soon), so the P13’s production incarnation is vital to their success.