McLaren promises the P1 will be the "ultimate supercar" when it reaches market next year.
McLaren is ready to unleash what it’s calling the “ultimate supercar” at the upcoming Paris Motor Show and after giving us an artistic tease that Andy Warhol might have been proud of, the British maker has finally given us an unvarnished look at the new P1.
Okay, let’s back up a bit. These images are of what McLaren is calling a “P1 Design Study.” But barring a few little tweaks you can expect to see pretty much precisely what’s hear when the new model goes on sale “within 12 months.” That would hold the maker to its promise to produce an all-new vehicle every year, starting with the McLaren MP4-12C and the subsequent Spider.
Apparently, we’ll have to wait for Paris to get more details about the McLaren P1 but Managing Director Tony Sherrif hints that, “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. It is the true test of a supercar’s all round ability and a much more important technical statement. It will be the most exciting, most capable, most technologically advanced and most dynamically accomplished supercar ever made.”
The new McLaren P1 will be the maker's third new model in barely two years.
That said, reports have suggested that the P1 – earlier expected to be called the P12 – will rely on McLaren’s current 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 powertrain. It seems likely the maker will find a way to squeeze out significantly more than the MP4’s 616 horsepower – possibly as much as 800, according to some reports.
The spiritual successor to the legendary McLaren F1, it will take carbon fiber technology to a significant new level, Sherrif has told TheDetroitBureau.com, taking advantages of new techniques for the construction of the lightweight but phenomenally expensive material.
The work of former Ferrari design boss Frank Stephenson, now McLaren’s styling honcho, the P1 balances some of the original F1’s visual cues with the design language of the MP4-12C, notably the snubbed nose and wild body sculpting.
‘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 P1 is to redefine it once again.’
We’ll have more details after the McLaren news conference at the Mondial de l’Automobile on September 27th.