McLaren is tipped to launch a new hypercar that one auto-mag describes as its “most extreme road car” ever.
British automaker McLaren is reportedly developing a new hypercar that’s both road-legal while still being geared for immense racing track performance. The vehicle is said to be in development under the codename McLaren P15, although no official announcement has been made regarding such a car.
The claims of the McLaren P15’s existence can be traced to a news post by car magazine Autocar, which cites anonymous insiders who appear to have knowledge of the engineering team working on the vehicle. According to the article, McLaren engineers were briefed to create “the most extreme, track-focused road car”, and have been given the freedom to “prioritise performance over anything else”.
Both the header image and body images on this page were sourced via the Autocar article in question:
Image Credit: Autocar
One unnamed source is quoted as describing the McLaren P15 as a “track weapon”, and said that it will deliver “the most exciting and thrilling driving experience on track”. The car will reportedly be powered by the same 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine you’ll find in existing McLaren road cars, but will supposedly be linked to a tweaked version of the seven-speed gearbox in the extremely well-reviewed McLaren 720S.
Importantly, the McLaren P15 has supposedly been “extensively worked on” to provide 789bhp, trumping the 727bhp offered by the plug-in hybrid McLaren P1 – which entered production back in 2013 – but less than the 903bhp achieved when the electric motor is engaged.
The McLaren P15 is expected to come with two seats, and weigh less than 1,300kg – a 247kg saving over the McLaren P1. This will give it a better power-per-tonne ratio than the P1, and will definitely help boost track performance.
McLaren P1
Autocar doesn’t specify specifiy speeds, but claims that the P16 will be able to “eclipse” the 720S’s quarter-mile time of 10.4 seconds, and “challenge” the P1’s 10.2-second time. It’s also tipped to “potentially match” the P1’s 0-60mph time of 2.7 seconds, and “get close to” the P1 GTR’s 2.5 seconds.
The low weight of the McLaren P15 is purportedly made possible by using a new one-piece carbon-fibre tub – as first used on the 720S launched earlier this year. The car is said to only have bodywork where it delivers performance, rather than aesthetic, benefit, and is described as looking “brutal”:
“This is the ultimate distillation of form following function. Whichever part of the car you look at, you will visually understand the function of the components,” the source is quoted as saying.
Starting prices for the McLaren P1 are expected to begin at around £700,000 plus tax (£840,000 in the UK), with a public debut slated for the Geneva Motor Show in March 2018. Deliveries, however, aren’t expected until summer next year.
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Let us know what you think of the McLaren P15 in the comments below.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
