Successor to the legendary F1
It took 15 years for McLaren to come up with the spiritual successor to the legendary F1, but in 2013 along came the P1 McLaren – a Woking-built plug-in hybrid which its maker confidently proclaimed to be “the best driver’s car in the world”.
Constructed around a 90kg carbon fibre MonoCage tub, the rear-drive McLaren P1 is powered by a McLaren’s mid-mounted 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 tuned to produce 737hp. The V8 integrates with an electric motor and together they make 916hp with 900Nm of torque, and among many other hi-tech features are Instant Power Assist, Kinetic Energy Recovery (KERS) and Drag Reduction (DRS) systems.
The figures are 0-62mph in 2.8 secs with an electronically-limited 217mph top speed, although the P1 could reach 249mph when unlimited. It also accelerates from 0-300km/h (186mph) some five seconds faster than the 1990s F1.
Capable of driving over 10km in electric-only mode, the P1 weighs 1,391kg (dry) – this figure helped by there being no interior sound deadening while carpet was an optional extra. When on the move it generates aerodynamic downforce on par with a GT3 racer, but with even greater ground effect, both of which further improve the car’s balance, stability and driveability.
To support McLaren’s belief that the P1 was the “fastest ever production car on a racing circuit”, the company took one to the Nordschleife and it lapped in “under seven minutes”. How much under seven minutes was never revealed, but a shootout on Silverstone’s Club circuit in late 2015 saw the P1 lap in 58.24 secs. This was 0.23 and 0.34 secs quicker than the 918 Spyder and LaFerrari respectively, but the three times were so close as to be inconclusive.
P1 production ceased in 2015 after the intended 375 cars had been built. With prices starting at £866,000, the average actually paid for a new one was around £1 million with options.
