McLaren to Merge with EV Skunkworks Forseven

McLaren Automotive is “about to embark on the most exciting British automotive story in decades,” thanks to a merger with an EV startup that has yet to produce a single car.

You probably won’t have heard of Forseven, but the British company has been ramping up over the past couple of years and now employs a team of 700. The first car scheduled to be built by Forseven was to be a luxury electric SUV to be sold under a new, as-yet-un-named marque. Now, however, it seems the focus will be capitalizing on the McLaren brand instead.

In an extensive interview with Autocar, Forseven CEO Nick Collins, who will take the reins of new firm McLaren Group Holdings, said the first action will be to turn around the McLaren Automotive business with a six-month timeframe.

Following that will be an extensive product plan that expands McLaren beyond its tradition of mid-engined two-seaters. “It’s not as challenging as you think to explore how the design language of this brand could evolve in the future and still maintain everything that they’ve already done and a lot more,” Collins told Autocar.

Although Forseven billed itself as an EV pioneer, Collins added that the merger would not mean an immediate switch to electricity for McLaren. “The future of propulsion is multi-propulsion. The more luxurious the vehicle gets, the better electric is for it because it’s quieter, more refined. So it will play a role,” he added.

There appears to be plenty of cash to back the plans, with Forseven’s funding coming from CYVN Holdings, an investment arm of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and additional input from China’s Nio, which comes with a wealth of battery expertise.

CYVN also splashed out on buying Gordon Murray Technologies in 2023, giving the company the rights to use Murray’s innovative iStream production process, which utilizes carbon fiber and aluminum for lightweight and cost-effective construction. Whether Murray himself will be involved in any future McLaren designs is not known.

Collins has promised “a bigger-bang event” later in 2025 when further details of the next generation McLaren will be revealed.