After a couple of intriguing teaser vids, McLaren has officially released images of its forthcoming P1 supercar that is set to raise the bar for driving enthusiasts the world over. In McLaren’s own words, they are confident enough to proclaim that the P1 aims to be ‘the best driver’s car in the world on road and track’… Furthering that up, Ron Dennis has said “the P1 will be the result of 50 years of racing and road car heritage. Twenty years ago we raised the supercar performance bar with the McLaren F1 and our goal with P1 is to redefine it once again.”
And there isn’t much doubt that McLaren will hold true to these statements and performance claims when the P1 goes into full production within 12 month’s time. McLaren state that the P1 you see here (and at the upcoming Paris Motor Show debut) mirror a ‘design study’ that will preview the forthcoming McLaren supercar. What that really means is that they will use this first ‘design study’ model to gauge public reaction and potential customer’s opinions… But from where I’m sitting, this already looks a stunner.
Details on power and specs are still flying around inside the internet rumour mills but expect a modified version of their existing 3.8L twin-turbo V8 producing somewhere in the region of 800 bhp with a KERS system along for the ride developing an extra 150-160 bhp. All said and done, expect your P1 to hammer out something in the 950+ bhp region of insanity.
When McLaren claims “Our aim is not necessarily to be the fastest in absolute top speed but to be the quickest and most rewarding series production car on a circuit”, I look at what they’ve already accomplished with the (still developing) MP4-12C and expect nothing less… The P1’s in-the-metal Paris Show debut happens on September 27th.
-Blake J.
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