McLaren P1
Meet the successor to the F1 supercar
By Shahzad Sheikh
[UPDATE – 27 March 2013]
McLaren has finally released images of the production car and details of pricing and powertrain.
UK price released at GBP866,000 ($1.3m) only 375 units will be made
Mid-mounted twin-turbo 3.8-litre V8 with electric hybrid technology and with F1-inspired boost system producing a totally of 903bhp and 664bhp giving it a 0-100kph acceleration of under 3 seconds, and 0-200kph in under 7 seconds with a top speed ‘limited to’ 350kph.
Production car remains virtually unchanged to the concept apart from air ducts ahead of each of the front wheels for cooling and downforce.
Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres have been especially developed for the P1, plus a unique carbon ceramic disc for the brakes developed by Akebono.
McLaren has been teasing us about something special for the Paris Motor Show next week – well here it is. The all-new P1 heralds the spiritual successor to the fabled F1 supercar from the 1990s which set a new precedence for performance in a road car.
According to the very brief press release issued with these three pictures: ‘The McLaren P1 has one simple goal: to be the best driver’s car in the world on road and track.’
More details will be revealed at Paris, but these pictures are said to be of a design study, with a production version to be revealed next year. Don’t expect it to go on sale until 2014.
‘The McLaren P1 will be the result of 50 years of racing and road car heritage,’ says McLaren Automotive Executive Chairman Ron Dennis. ‘Twenty years ago we raised the supercar performance bar with the McLaren F1 and our goal with the McLaren P1 is to redefine it once again.’
‘Our aim is not necessarily to be the fastest in absolute top speed but to be the quickest and most rewarding series production road car on a circuit,’ says McLaren Automotive Managing Director Antony Sheriff. ‘It is the true test of a supercar’s all round ability and a much more important technical statement. Our goal is to make the McLaren P1 the most exciting, most capable, most technologically advanced and most dynamically accomplished supercar ever made.’
From that statement from Sheriff, it sounds like the P1 won’t be trying to outperform the Bugatti Veyron in terms of outright speed (over 430kph for the Veyrone), but may well be the quickest car off the line ever – the Veyron will do 0-100kph in 2.46seconds. We’d expect that the MP4-12C’s V8 will be tuned up to over 800bhp with an F1-style KERS unit to boost output.
Looking at the pictures it’s clear that aerodynamics and ground-effects have played a big part in the car’s design, with the overall look appearing to be a fusion of the F1 with the 12C combined with more curvaceous lines and some fascinating detail touches, particularly at the rear.
Let us know what you think of it, in the comments section below.
Dear Auto-maker,
In the world of automotive excellence, you’ve got to be the fastest, both in terms of acceleration & top-speed. Its either that or nothing, as nobody remembers the runner-up or the second best.
P1 is an excellent production, in terms of its exterior design and practicality, but the interior wardrobe and speed needs improvement.
We expect that because we are talking about a Maclaren not any common commercial auto-maker.
With best wishes
Ameer.
Car enthusiast & dreamer.