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Lindsay and Shaikh Ghassan with the McLaren 675LT

New supercars to boost McLaren sales by 60pc

MANAMA, April 20, 2015

Two new McLaren supercars launched yesterday (April 19) are expected to boost the luxury car brand's presence in Bahrain by 50-60 per cent, an official has said.

McLaren Automotive's marketing manager for Middle East and Africa Thomas Pryor told the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication, that when Bahrain's first McLaren showroom was opened in 2013 by Al Ghassan Motors, its official retailer, the supercar specialist had already sold around 15 cars.

"Since then, we have sold a bit more than that number.

"There are around 35 McLaren cars in Bahrain and that will increase by another 50-60pc with the introduction of the new cars," Pryor said.

The two cars launched are the 675LT and the 570S.

The 675LT, only 500 of which will be made, is a higher-performance variant of the 650S, featuring a 675PS (666bhp) engine that delivers 0-62mph (0-100kph) in 2.9 seconds. It has a top speed of 205mph (330kph).

"There has been unprecedented interest and we believe that the model will be imminently sold out," he said.

The new 570S Coupe is a classic sports car with a mid-mounted engine, rear-wheel drive layout and a carbon fibre chassis.

It will accelerate from zero to 100km/h (0-62 mph) in 3.2 seconds, and the top speed is 328 km/h (204mph).

Pryor said both cars are now available for ordering and the McLaren 675LT will be delivered to customers in Bahrain starting from October-November this year.

Deliveries of the McLaren 570S, the first car from the sports series, however will only start early next year, he said.

"We are already building a strong order bank for the 570S."

Declining to reveal specifics, saying that they were not released yet, Pryor said the 675LT would be sold at a 30p per cent premium to the McLaren 650S, which retails for around $310,000, and the 570S would be around 70 per cent of the price of the 650S.

The cars were launched at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain, Hotel and Spa by British Ambassador Iain Lindsay and Al Ghassan Motors' president and chief executive Shaikh Ghassan Al Sulaiman during the "GREAT British Advanced Engineering and Innovation" event planned to coincide with the 2015 Gulf Air Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix.

Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) chief executive Khalid Al Rumaihi was also present.

Held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, First Deputy Prime Minister and EDB chairman, the event featured an exhibition and conference to promote British engineering and innovation.

Exhibitors includes BAE Systems, McLaren Automotive, McLaren Applied Technologies, Rolls Royce Aerospace, National Express and JCB. McLaren Automotive is a sister company to the McLaren Formula One team.

Bahraini sovereign fund Mumtalakat has stakes in both. - TradeArabia News Service
 




Tags: Bahrain | McLaren | launch | Sale | new | boost | Supercar |

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