McLaren is best known for building some of the world’s most iconic supercars, but it’s branching out into what it calls “hyperbikes” with the launch of four new e-bikes, complete with massive power outputs that it claims are the pokiest ever.

The raw stats on these bikes are truly impressive and worthy of McLaren’s status, the Extreme 600 and Sport 600 claim 161Nm of torque, which is nearly double that of the Bosch CX motor and Shimano EP801 power unit. The pokiest model in the four bike range gets 852W peak power too, potentially leaving the SRAM’s 680W Powertrain motor in its dust. Even the best electric mountain bikes out there can’t match this for pure grunt.

With 161Nm of torque, the only thing you’ll worry about on the hills is spinning out… oh and the battery range too

McLaren e-bikes Need to know

• McLaren Extreme 600 and Extreme 250 are full suspension e-bikes
• McLaren Sport 600 and Sport 250 are full 29in e-bikes
• 600 model power outputs are off the charts, with 852W peak power and 161Nm of torque
• Extreme 600 available in the US only, as its power and 20mph top speed exceed EU limits
• Full suspension bikes get 145mm travel, mullet wheels and 160mm forks
• Bar-mounted display, angled perfectly skywards to catch the light
• SRAM XX T-type drivetrain on Extreme models, mechanical GX on Sport
• Top-tier Extreme 600 bike costs $11,950, ‘entry’ level Sport 250 is $7,950

The Greyp proved a sour experience thanks to crummy geometry

McLaren isn’t the first automotive company to have a crack at building mountain bikes, last year we rode the Greyp G6.6, which is owned by Porsche, while motorbike brand GasGas is gunning for e-bikes in a big way (in fact you can get a free one if you buy a moto right now!). By and large though, crossing over into mountain bikes never seems to be a great success for car and motorbike brands, probably because mountain bike sizing, weight distribution, suspension design and geometry is just so different to anything they’ve tried before. That said, we’ve actually heard good things about the Extreme 600 from the photoshoot, so here’s hoping this a bike to buck the trend

While the bike industry is moving towards smaller or non-existent displays, McLaren is going all Tesla on us

McLaren Extreme 600 and Sport 600 details

McLaren has designed and built the full carbon bikes itself, apparently by the same teams responsible for the Artura electric car. The motor though is made by an unnamed third party and features Eco, Trail, Sport, and Race modes to tailor the power. We’ve no idea if these power bands will be customisable, but with a screen as big as the one inset into the McLaren bikes’ bars you’d hope so.

That colour LCD screen is designed to “mimic those of the cars’ driver displays,” McLaren says, and “shows telemetry information including speed, battery life and range”.

The Extreme full suspension bike gets trail-bike travel and a 35mm fork, which might be undergunned

Two full-suspension bikes, two hardtails

As far as we can work out from the press release, there are two full suspension e-bikes in the new range, both use mullet wheels, get 145mm of travel and a 160mm fork. They’re split into two power bands, and this is guesswork now but it looks like the Extreme 600 has 600W average power and costs $11,950, while the Extreme 250 is $10,950 and gets a more modest 250W power.

Then there are two hardtails with full 29in wheels, the Sport 600 costs $8,950 and the Sport 250 retails at $7,950.

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Extreme models come with a SRAM Eagle T-type XX drivetrain, while the Sport bikes get SRAM mechanical GX. All the bikes come with Pirelli Scorpion Enduro tyres. From the pictures it seems the Extreme 600 bike comes with a RockShox Lyrik up front and a RockShox Deluxe Ultimate on the back.

Could the McLaren Extreme be a unicorn? A car brand designed e-bike that’s actually pretty good? Look out for a test soon

The mbr take

From Penske racing helping out with the air can on Trek’s Fuel EX back in 2014, to the Greyp G6.6 in 2023, as a general rule car companies and mountain bikes do not mix well. That said, we’ve heard good things from an unnamed source about the McLaren Extreme 600, so this could be the first car brand to successfully make the crossover into mtb work. It’s very hard to tell from the images, but the bike’s geometry looks pretty decent, and those power figures and incredible, although it’s important to note that only US customers can buy the punchiest bikes. We’re not too sure about that bar mounted display though.