McLaren Automotive unveiled the McLaren P1 today. It will receive its official unveil at the Paris Motor Show next week. At the moment the P1 is purely a design study, however, a production version is planned and the company aims to put it on sale within twelve months. The aim is not necessarily to be the fastest in terms of top speed but to be the quickest and most rewarding series production road car on a circuit.
For now, all we have is a set of three pictures so we can only comment on what we see and what the rumoured specs are. The McLaren P1’s design bears a similarity to McLaren’s previous designs. The overall shape has hints of the MP4-12C with the rear central exhaust and the layout of the rear facia. However, it’s obviously a more extreme design with an aggressive layered diffuser, front air intakes that remind us of the Aston Martin One-77 and a set of headlights that look visually similar to the McLaren Automotive logo.
The black sections are important aerodynamic parts. The new P1 headlights could also appear on a facelifted MP4-12C at some point in the future. Hints of the F1 come through the use of a design line that intersects the door and through the F1-style roof scoop. The McLaren P1 uses a modified version of the MP4-12C’s carbonfibre Monocell. It weighs less than 1300kg.
The P1’s front and rear aluminium subframes and the suspension components have received significant upgrades with active damping and active roll control thought to be fitted. McLaren could also make use of active aerodynamics.
The P1 should feature the same 3.8 liter V8 engine as the MP4-12C complete with a turbocharger. The engine and transmission sit lower in the chassis. Power ratings could be over 800hp at 9000rpm from the standard setup and approximately 960hp with a next generation Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) boost offering an additional 160hp. These figures could make the new McLaren P1 the fastest accelerating production car in the world with a sprint time from zero to 100km/h in less than 2.3 seconds. The top speed will be hypercar-like, but stays short to the Veyron.
Wiper blade companies are going to be disappointed though. Apparently McLaren fitted a new type of acrylic window to the P1 that doesn’t require windscreen wipers!
The final release of the production-ready McLaren P1 will happen in 2013 with the production likely to start in 2014. Sources say the new McLaren hypercar will be limited to 500 pieces with an exclusive price tag of around $1.56 million. For the complete rumour roundup, read our earlier McLaren P1 detail post.
Let us know what you think of the car in the comments box below.
