McLaren’s first EVs are here. They just have two wheels instead of four.
The British supercar specialists have just unveiled a new range of electric mountain bikes. The lineup consists of two distinct models, the Extreme and Sport, which the automaker claims are the most powerful street-legal e-bikes you can buy.
We’ve seen plenty of automakers team up with bike makers in the past, but McLaren’s new two-wheelers are a completely in-house affair. In fact, the marque entrusted the design of both bikes to the same team that designed the hybrid Artura. Supercars and bicycles don’t have much in common from a design point of view, but you can definitely see traces of the former in the latter’s carbon-fiber construction and liberal use of orange accents. It also must be said that while the Extreme and Sport both look like powerful bruisers, they’re nowhere near as chunky as some of the more rugged mountain bikes out there.
The big story here, though, is the custom-tuned mid-drive motor that powers the flagship versions of the Extreme and Sport. The motor, which is shared by both bikes, produces 600W of normalized power, 852W of peak power, and 119 ft lbs of torque. That output makes this motor the most powerful currently on the market and allows both models to hit all-electric speeds of up to 20 mph. Sure, that’s a lot slower than the Artura, which tops out at 205 mph, but it’s very fast for an e-bike. If all that sounds like overkill, don’t worry. Both bikes are available with motors that produce 250W of normalized power.
The Extreme and Sport are both similar-looking electric mountain bikes, but there are key differences between the two. Both models can be ridden on streets and trails and everything in between, but the Extreme comes equipped with a full suspension that makes it a bit more off-road friendly. The Sport, meanwhile, is the more versatile of the two and has a more streamlined aesthetic. Whichever version you choose, it will come with a handlebar-mounted display with graphics like those found in the cockpit of a supercar, five different ride modes, and a set of Pirelli all-terrain tires.
McLaren is selling the Extreme and Sport electric mountain bikes now through a dedicated website. The Sport starts at $7,950 and can go up to $8,950, while the Extreme starts at $10,950 and can go up to $11,950. Each model will be available in limited numbers.
