Luxury grand tourers are usually front-engined,
but with the new McLaren GT, the British marque has created something a little
different in the form of a mid-engined alternative. However, what if McLaren
stuck to the norm and made a front-engined GT instead?
Intrigued by this thought, designer Nathan Malinick
created a unique McLaren dubbed the Monaco for his senior thesis project. The
vehicle has been described as “McLaren’s 2-seat transcontinental ballistic
missile”, could sit in a new family of models coined the Touring Series and
offer similar performance to the Ferrari 812 Superfast. Powering the McLaren Monaco is a
tuned version of the 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 found in the 720S that’s
(supposedly) pumping out a total of 760 hp. The Monaco has a long front end,
but most of the engine and driveline could fit behind the front axle, making
the grand tourer front mid-engined.
As the vehicle has been designed for the year 2025,
its styling strays from Woking’s current design language, but it certainly
looks edgy and aggressive. Among our favorite elements of the exterior are the
sharp LED headlights and the windscreen that seamlessly flows into
near-frameless butterfly doors and a moonroof.
Although so far McLaren has stuck to mid-engined
cars only, it would be interesting to see it build a front-engined rival to the
likes of the Aston Martin DB11 and 812 Superfast. Sadly, we can’t see it
happening anytime soon, particularly since the GT now occupies the position
such a vehicle could.
