We’re in the last month of 2022, but McLaren has yet to deliver a unit of its prized Artura to a customer. The hybrid sports car, which was introduced in mid-2021, suffered delivery delays due to continued chip shortages late last year. However, McLaren faces another problem when it comes to producing its first-series hybrid supercar.
McLaren revealed this in its third-quarter earnings report, saying the Artura needed “certain technical upgrades” which led to a further delay in production. Of course, this upgrade would require funding, forcing McLaren to sell some of its historic cars to raise money, as reported Automotive News.
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Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat Holding, which owns nearly 60% of McLaren’s capital, bought the said historic cars for 100 million pounds ($123 million). A McLaren spokesperson confirmed this. Automotive News, although exact details of historic McLaren vehicles have not been disclosed. It should be noted that McLaren’s heritage collection includes 54 rare Formula 1 racing cars and F1 supercars.
However, said injection of cash from its main shareholder is not enough.
“We are in active discussions with all shareholders regarding a recapitalization of the group,” McLaren said in the Automotive News report.
McLaren bled money. The company posted a loss of $247 million in the nine months to September, up from last year’s loss of $84 million. Additionally, the company’s cash at the end of the third quarter fell to $106 million, a huge drop from $208 million.
This year, McLaren has already obtained funds from some of its shareholders through convertible preferred shares. The investment company Ares Management Corporation and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia contributed to this financing, to the tune of 125 million pounds (154 million dollars).
