When Pietro Frigerio set up his McLaren dealership in 2011 in Newport Beach, Calif., the brand was not well known beyond open-wheel racing fans. So he put it on the corner where Tustin Avenue meets the Pacific Coast Highway to act as a billboard of sorts to 40,000 passing cars each week in a bustling shopping area.
Six years later, awareness of the brand is increasing across North America, new models are sold out before they reach retailers, and Frigerio is starting to outgrow his location's service facilities.
With last year’s introduction of the McLaren 570S, which starts around $200,000—about where the top Porsche models leave off—U.S. sales more than doubled. And, according to registration data analyzed by IHS Markit, the biggest group of buyers are people who already own Porsches.
“What's the next step after I own in my life four 911s? Something a little more exclusive,” Frigerio said, explaining his customers’ thinking. “They want something more special, they need something a bit unique, but they need something which is easy to live with.”
Of course, his customers are in Southern California, that magical land of wealth and perfect weather, where according to Frigerio, a Porsche 911 is kind of a “normal car.”
New Models
At the top of the McLaren line is its Ultimate Series, cars built for the track. With seven-digit prices and Le Mans-inspired technology, these cars are all about going fast at any price. The McLaren P1 GTR, a $3 million supercar with a name that echoes the F1 GTR that won the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours race, is available only to owners of the $1.15 million P1.
In the middle is the Super Series, cars that may be street-legal but are typically kept at a private track, where drivers needn't worry about potholes or police. McLaren's 720S is its newest model, replacing the raw and roaring, 666-horsepower 675LT and the 650S. With prices ranging from about $280,000 to the low $400,000s, these cars are significantly more attainable, but without wasting much weight or space on creature comforts. (The 720S does include two small cupholders and small vanity mirrors.)
At the entry level is the Sport Series, with prices typically in the low $200,000 range. The bodies of the 570S and 570GT in this line resemble the track cars, but the suspension is less rigid—comfortable on city streets and even capable of navigating over a grocery-store speed bump.
While offering more “practical” cars, such as this year’s 570 Spider convertible, put the brand within reach of a larger customer base, its expansion last year—when sales in North America more than doubled—was spurred by the offering of leases through Ally Financial Inc. Whereas a 650S would lease for maybe $3,500 a month, you can drive a 570S for more like $2,500 a month. That's not peanuts, but it's a pretty reasonable way to get into a brand that until recently was known only for world-class race cars.