Super-luxury brands scramble to change their iconic products

Ultraluxury and racing brands are at a historic crossroads. They are jettisoning their thirsty V-8 and V-12 engines as they cruise toward an emissions-free future.

That track can be tricky for iconic automakers, such as Ferrari and Porsche, as they strive to trim their carbon footprint without sacrificing the driving performance that justifies their nose-bleed sticker prices.

To achieve some balance, hypercar brands McLaren and Lamborghini are dipping their toes into electrification with plug-in hybrids.

The push for supercars to go battery-only makes little sense for purely environmental reasons, said Philippe Houchois, automotive analyst at investment bank Jefferies.

"Putting a large battery into a supercar has a negative impact on manufacturing emissions because they get driven so little [to offset the extra emissions in producing the battery]," Houchois told Automotive News Europe, a sibling publication of Automotive News Canada.

British marque McLaren plans to move to a 100 per cent electrified portfolio by 2026, with its first full-electric model expected by the end of the decade.

In the near term, McLaren is sticking with fuel-sipping plug-in hybrid technology to cut fleet emissions without compromising weight.

This fall McLaren is beginning deliveries of the Artura, a US$237,500 plug-in hybrid. Meanwhile, a successor to its P1 mid-engine plug-in hybrid supercar could arrive in late 2024.

But in a move likely to arch the eyebrows of brand purists, McLaren might be flirting with the idea of an electric SUV.

Consumer demand and profit margins for larger, utility-style vehicles are an irresistible siren song. Even Ferrari, the high priest of low-slung sports cars, has developed the higher-riding Purosangue.

Some super-premium brands aren't bothering with in-between hybrid technology, going all-in on electron power.

Rolls-Royce next year will begin its journey into an all-electric future with the launch of the two-door Spectre coupe.

Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös described the new model as "the first and finest super-luxury product of its type."

The next electric Rolls — a crossover — could arrive in North American showrooms by mid-decade. According to media reports, it would be built on the Architecture of Luxury platform, sharing drivetrain technology with parent BMW's next-generation electric vehicles.

"Electric drive is uniquely and perfectly suited to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, more so than any other automotive brand," Müller-Ötvös said. "It is silent, refined and creates torque almost instantly, going on to generate tremendous power."

But Porsche might be the shining example for electrification advocates among the sports-car set.

The German marque, like Tesla, has proven that humming electric motors can deliver the same visceral and real-world performance of the guttural flat-six that defines Porsche's identity for brand loyalists.

The Taycan full-electric sedan outsold the iconic 911 sports car globally last year, with 41,296 deliveries, an increase of 106 per cent.

Porsche now seeks to capitalize on that market momentum with plans to launch electric versions of its high-volume Macan compact crossover and Cayenne midsize crossover in the next few years.

The automaker is broadening its portfolio with a new flagship electric three-row crossover. Positioned above the Cayenne, this range-topping model could arrive in North America as early as 2026.

Several exotic brands seek to ditch combustion engines by 2030, rolling out their first electric hypercars ahead of that.

Bentley will reveal its first battery-electric vehicle in 2025, while hybridizing its lineup through the end of the decade.

Maserati's GranTurismo coupe and convertible counterpart, the GranCabrio, will be the Italian brand's first to receive battery-electric powertrains next year.

The last combustion-only Lamborghini should rumble off the assembly line in 2024. The first Lambo EV could arrive in the second half of the decade.

Ferrari's EV debut is also expected mid-decade, with the model arriving stateside by 2026, according to AutoForecast Solutions.

Meanwhile, Aston Martin could bring a fully electric model — possibly a battery version of the Valhalla hybrid supercar or DB11 sports car — in 2025.

High-line brand retailer Robert DiStanislao argues the industry's race to decarbonize is less about near-term consumer demand than a pragmatic response to "political winds."

Many cities globally seek to limit or ban sales of new high-emission combustion-powered vehicles by early next decade.

"The country of Germany and the country of California have rushed to electric," complained DiStanislao, owner of RDS Automotive Group in suburban Philadelphia, which represents eight premium brands. "As such, the world has to follow."

He said his customers remain enthusiastic about combustion engines, pointing to brisk demand for Ferrari's new V-12-powered Purosangue.

"Our consumer has an appetite for [conventional engines] as that car is sold out for three years," DiStanislao said.

Larry P. Vellequette, Vince Bond Jr. and Richard Truett contributed to this report.