McLaren 540C to Cost Just $165,000

“The most accessible McLaren ever,” the upcoming 540C sports car will cost just $165,000.

A $20,000 discount over the new 570S model ($184,900), McLaren confirmed the price points for the two Sports Series models today at the New York International Auto Show.

Those figures land comfortably within the range of the Porsche 911 Turbo, which clocks in at $151,100 and $182,700 for the Turbo S.

“Talking to our retailers and talking to our customers there was a desire to have an as competitively priced model as possible,” said Mike Flewitt, McLAren Automotive CEO.

Calling it, “the most accessible McLaren ever,” Flewitt said there won’t be any future models below that and even commented that despite the price, he doesn’t expect it to be a big seller.

To keep cost down, items like the carbon ceramic brakes will be swapped out in favor of conventional units, while the bodywork will also be less stylized. In addition, the model name is an indication of the performance level. With the 570S making 570 hp expect the 540C to deliver 540 hp.

“I don’t actually expect that many people will buy them,” said Flewitt. “When you look at the price differential between the 540C and the 570S and you look at the content that comes with it, the S is very desirable.”

According to Flewitt, McLaren expects to sell roughly 2,000 versions of its new Sports Series models.

With different levels of tune, the Sports Series will be comprised of three unique bodystyles. Flewitt said a second bodystyle will be introduced next year and confirmed that it won’t be the spider (convertible). “The spider will come much later in the life of the vehicle” he said.

Not willing to elaborate further on what the new version would be he did say it would be “something special” and will “broaden the appeal of this range of car.”

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