As McLaren teams up yet again with Honda in order to take on the world of Formula One racing in 2015, the company has made it clear F1 is as far as its partnership with Honda goes.
Speaking on the prospect of a Honda supercar engine being installed in a future McLaren supercar, McLaren Automotive’s director of global sales and market Joylon Nash said, “It won’t happen. I mean that in the nicest way, as we are an independent company — we produce pure McLarens.”
He added, “There is no need for us to go into partnership with another manufacturer.”
McLaren’s F1 hypercar dominated Formula 1 racing in the 90s thanks to BMW’s 6.1 liter 627 horsepower V-12 engine, which helped the 240 mph vehicle achieve near mythical status.
These days, McLaren no longer seeks out outside suppliers for its supercar engines as the MP4-12C, P1 and 650s all derive power from McLaren’s own 3.8 liter twin-turbocharged V8.
Reports are that Honda is planning to release its own supercar, the NSX, which features a V6 hybrid engine.
