After the P1, there were quite a few hypercars, but McLaren hasn't yet introduced a real replacement. Another flagship model from Woking won't be released until later in the decade, so the company is taking its sweet time. The Porsche 918 Spyder successor will also do away with the internal combustion engine (ICE), so when it ultimately does come, the lineup's crown jewel won't have one since it will take the form of a pure EV.

Michael Leiters, CEO of McLaren Automotive, discussed the Mission X competitor and how it won't have excessive power in an interview with Autocar. He claims that because engineers are trying to reduce the weight penalty required by the batteries, the P1's all-electric successor won't require insane amounts of power: "We don't want to build a car with 2,000 kg and 2,000 horsepower," the manufacturer said. The British brand won't do that because it's not in the "DNA of McLaren," he continued, but "anyone can do that."

A zero-emission hypercar that weighs about the same as the 750S, which tips the scales at an astonishingly low 1,277 kg before adding fluids, is the target. Whatever McLaren develops will need to be more powerful, perform better, and handle better than an equal ICE car, according to Leiters. It will take some time because the CEO estimates that the EV hypercar will be available "possibly at the end of the decade."

When compared to other vehicles racing in the exclusive world of electric hypercars, the record-breaking Rimac Nevera has 1,914 horsepower and weighs 2,150 kilograms. The Lotus Evija has 2,011 horsepower and weighs 1,680 kg, whereas the mechanically similar Pininfarina Battista has 1,900 hp and weighs 2,063 kg. Porsche hasn't provided many specifics regarding the Mission X, although the company did state that the idea featured a weight-to-power ratio of 1:1.

McLaren is taking its time releasing an all-electric P1 successor because internal research shows that customers have not yet shown a desire for one. While acknowledging that some individuals are interested in exploring entirely electric performance cars, Leiters claimed that the success of the 750S shows that the ICE is still in strong demand in the supercar sector. There will be plug-in hybrid versions built around a new V8 engine that will be positioned above the Artura with its V6 PHEV arrangement throughout the transition from ICE to EV.