McLaren CEO: SUV would 'dilute' the brand

"They utterly dilute the driving experience so it makes no sense," says McLaren chief Mike Flewitt.

McLaren has expanded its rationale for avoiding the SUV market, refusing to be drawn in behind rivals Lamborghini and Ferrari.

Speaking to Top Gear, McLaren chief Mike Flewitt noted that the British automaker is not part of a larger consortium -- like Volkswagen Group -- that can repurpose a single SUV architecture across both mainstream and luxury or performance brands.

McLaren also believes an SUV would dilute its brand, which focuses on a heritage of motorsport and drivers' cars.

"SUVs are great, they have their place, but they're not great drivers' cars," he said. "They utterly dilute the driving experience so it makes no sense."

The executive also admitted it could be difficult to go up against "the Range Rovers and Cayennes of this world" and create a superior McLaren-badged competitor in the near term.

Other exclusive performance and luxury brands apparently have a different outlook, viewing SUVs as the next strategy to potentially double their sales volume as many buyers continue to shift toward high-riding vehicles.