McLaren Confirms Talks With Apple, But They 'Never Matured to Definitive Proposition'

[MacRumors]

In late September, the Financial Times reported Apple was considering a full takeover of McLaren Automotive or a strategic investment in the British supercar maker.

The New York Times and Bloomberg separately reported talks were underway as well, noting Apple was more likely to make a large investment in McLaren rather than buy it.

Two months later, it now turns out those reports were accurate. In an interview with Reuters, McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt confirmed McLaren was in discussions with Apple, but he said the talks never progressed towards a definitive proposition. He also ruled out a takeover bid from Apple.

"There wasn't a bid from Apple," said Flewitt. "They visited. We talked. We talked about what they did. We talked about what we did. They toured. It never matured to a definitive proposition," he said.

McLaren previously said it was "not in discussion with Apple in respect of any potential investment," a seemingly purposefully vague statement that did not rule out discussions between the companies entirely. Financial Times reporter Tim Bradshaw rightly stood by his story despite McLaren's statement.

Apple's interest in McLaren may have diminished as the iPhone maker's ambitions reportedly no longer include building its own car "for now." Under the leadership of Bob Mansfield, Apple's automotive team has reportedly shifted its focus towards developing an underlying system and technologies for autonomous vehicles.

McLaren, headquartered in Woking, Surrey, manufactures high-performance sports cars, including the P1 and F1 models that look similar to Formula One race cars. The carmaker produced just 1,654 vehicles last year, some costing as much as $1 million apiece. Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller is said to own a McLaren.

McLaren has a Formula One team itself that competes under the name McLaren Honda, winning more F1 Grand Prix races than any other team since 1966. Formula One itself was sold to U.S.-based Liberty Media for $4.4 billion in August. McLaren Automotive and McLaren Racing are subsidiaries of McLaren Technology Group.

(Thanks, OllyW!)

Article Link: McLaren Confirms Talks With Apple, But They 'Never Matured to Definitive Proposition'

 

[wonderspark]

McLaren is perfect as is. Good to hear it's staying that way.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Confirms the talks previously denied.

 

[Born Again]

Its a sad realization when apple ruins companies it buys

 

[ThunderSkunk]

The Apple Car is the new Apple TV.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Makes sense. Apple is too cheap to pay what another company is worth and has absolutely no direction on future innovation. Now they went from building a car, which was relatively stupid, to making systems that no vehicle manufacturer will want. Why would vehicle manufacturers want anything from Apple when they develop their own semi-autonomoues technologies in-house or get them from Mobileye? Even Tesla rolled its own solution into production vehicles in less than a year... Apple has been chewing on this for how long? Idiots.

After $20 billion in R&D, Apple will announce something stupid that nobody wants. And Tim Cook will talk about all the great products in the pipeline. Unfortunately, by the time anything they are "working on" is ready, iPhone and iPad sales will be tanking while other companies, like Google, innovate with actually desirable phones like the Pixel. Nobody will want a car that integrates seamlessly into the iOS ecosystem by 2020. Look at the sales trajectory of Apple's mobile products: DOWN.

Tim Cook's days are numbered, that is, if the Board of Directors is paying any attention to what's not happening in Cupertino: Innovation. Cook has not structured the company in a way that promotes innovation, clearly evident by the lack of any attention being paid to its UI and product lines. Phil Schiller keeps getting fatter as he pumps out useless products nobody wants.

This is a very sad time for Apple.

 

[Jimmy James]

The last thing I wanted to hear was Jony justifying his design choices for a supercar.

 

[Dilster3k]

Or McLaren realized Apple was full of themselves & proposed silly ideas hence they weren't interested.

 

[I7guy]

After $20 billion in R&D,

That's why it's called R&D.

Tim Cook's days are numbered, that is, if the Board of Directors is paying any attention to what's not happening in Cupertino

I think they are paying attention and that is why Cook is still there and probably will be there for a while.

 

[Stella]

That also goes for others as well... Oracle comes to mind!!

Its a sad realization when apple ruins companies it buys

 

[pat500000]

I think all companies should say no to Apple.

 

[SSD-GUY]

Right now, Apple could really use McLaren's innovation and attention to detail.

 

[CausticSoda]

They sound right up Apple's street. Last year their models cost up to $1 million and they only sold 1,654 units. Hmm...

 

[Tacitus]

McLaren is perfect as is. Good to hear it's staying that way.

Given there's a big row going on between Ron Dennis who built up the company and two of the main investors one of whom is Sheik Mansour I'm not sure that may be true. It looks as though they're trying to force Dennis out, although he may still have a majority stake in the Technology part of the business.

 

[SoSickSadNslOw]

A collaboration would make more sense where it's not just Johny dictating terms!

 

[Tacitus]

Tim Cook's days are numbered,

Wrong target. It's Ive that's doing the damage. When I see a laptop where everything is soldered to the motherboard, including AFAICT, the touch ID, I conclude function has gone bye-byes. A computer where any damage to what effectively is the 'On' switch needs a new motherboard including the SSD, is design gone mad.

I've been a Mac user since the early 90s and if Windows wasn't such a pos, I'd be looking seriously at jumping ship.

 

[CausticSoda]

A collaboration would make more sense where it's not just Johny dictating terms!

Given he just wants everything thinner and lighter, his terms would be a good match for a supercar company.

 

[JamieLion]

McLaren, headquartered in Woking, Surrey, manufactures high-performance sports cars, including the P1 and F1 models commonly used for Formula One racing.
​

There's a bit of a misunderstanding there. The F1 and P1 are models of Road car. They are not actual F1 cars which are a very specific custom built ever evolving thing. There no direct relationship. (Although some technology concepts like hybrid systems are shared even if the road cars use different parts).

With the recent battles with Ron Dennis etc I think Apple did the right thing to give a very wide berth.

Hope that helps

J&L

 

[hawkeye_a]

McLaren's, Beats headphones, music subscriptions.....

I wonder if anyone there is focused on making some good Macs?

 

[Robert.Walter]

The last thing I wanted to hear was Jony justifying his design choices for a supercar.

Compelling...

 

[MyopicPaideia]

...including P1 & F1 models commonly used in Formula One racing...

You guys are just having a wind up, right? Right???

 

[bingeciren]

if Windows wasn't such a pos, I'd be looking seriously at jumping ship.

I feel the same way. The only way Windows can compete with macOS is abandon its Registry based virus heaven legacy foundation and completely re-design a new Unix based OS from ground up. Are they "courageous" enough to do it? I doubt it very much.

 

[Moonjumper]

McLaren produce a range of cars at the top end of the market that all look similar and appeal to a similar market to each other. All are good quality that perform well, and are worth buying if you match the exact needs they supply. Sounds like a good fit for Apple as they are now.

 

[now i see it]

I think after the GT Advanced fiasco, companies have gotten wary of getting bed with Apple.

 

[840quadra]

Always have been curious as to how this rumor came about. Nice to see some more details on it. Speaking of, I didn't know that @OllyW was a McLaren insider. When can I schedule my test drive, and is there a MacRumors discount?