McLaren is hardly the first carmaker to venture into two-wheeled transport, but the Surrey-based supercar builder is pitching right to the very top-end of modern cycling with its new e-bike range, McLaren Bikes, announced this week.
McLaren Bikes debuts four electric mountain bikes
The company is bringing four models to the market, the Extreme 600W and Extreme 250W, along with the Sport 600W and Sport 250W. The former are billed as ‘hyperbikes’, machines that are meant to have much in common with McLaren’s select range of bespoke hypercars, epitomised by models like the Speedtail.
The Sport duo are meant to have more in common with the ‘everyday’ McLaren range, which includes cars like the GT and 720S (since replaced by the 750S) and the hybrid Artura.
So what do cars and bikes have in common? The most obvious crossover is that McLaren’s design team has had a hand in shaping these carbon fibre-framed mountain bikes. The design goes much further than the simple application of the company’s signature Papaya Orange, however. Carbon-fibre construction is the most obvious parallel, while the massing of the frame emphasises the route taken by the dynamic forces generated by the ride, as well as reduces the visual weight of the battery pack.
Sheer power is another defining quality. The 600W model (available only in the USA) is described as one of the ‘world’s most potent e-bikes’. That should be good for an (electrified) top speed of 20mph. All models feature five different power settings, Off, Eco, Trail, Sport, and Race, mimicking the driver modes found in McLaren’s road cars. Information, including speed, battery life and range, is shown on a handlebar-mounted colour LCD panel.
The bikes are available as both full-suspension Extreme models and as hardtail Sport models, and all options use Pirelli tyres, McLaren Automotive’s long-standing partner. The company expects the availability of the new e-bikes to be strictly limited, just like with its most high-end cars.
McLaren e-bikes, from £7,200 for Extreme 250 model, McLarenBikes.com, @Mclaren_Bikes
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