By Alan Baldwin

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - McLaren want to compete with Formula One rivals Ferrari off the track as well as on it by building sports cars, co-owner Ron Dennis said on Monday.

Hinting that he might soon move aside as head of the team, who won the drivers' world title with Britain's Lewis Hamilton on Sunday, Dennis said diversification was key to McLaren's future success.

"Nothing that will unfold over the next few months will be as a result of yesterday," he told reporters.

"You are most definitely going to see me at grands prix, it is something I like too much to take it out of my life, but I think over the next few months I will make it abundantly clear what I am doing and why I'm doing it."

Dennis said McLaren's production car programme was close to being publicly launched.

"Obviously this economic situation makes life very difficult when you are trying to raise the sort of capital it requires but the programme is extremely advanced and this is something that I've got as much passion for as the Formula One car," he said.

"I have believed passionately in the need for a grand prix team to diversify.

"It's not by accident that McLaren is a group of companies. We do intend to try and match the success of Ferrari and to do that we can't just be a grand prix team.

"My role will broaden in some aspects and reduce in others," said Dennis. "We want the broadest possible base for the company, and what I mean by that is not just racing but also making sports cars."

McLaren are 40 percent owned by Mercedes while Ferrari are controlled by Fiat.

Dennis acknowledged that it was important to get the timing and finances right, with the global credit crunch and an already crowded marketplace making for tough competition. However he was confident the market would pick up.

"We want to be bigger and better than just a grand prix team," he said.

"I think it's critical to survival. If you look back in history, you see clear examples of teams that have stayed unique to Formula One that have just failed. You cannot sustain a Formula One team indefinitely, you need to diversify."

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Sonia Oxley)