McLaren has taken the covers off the Senna, its latest track-focused hypercar that can still be used to pop down the shops for a pint of milk.
Taking its name from the late Formula One driver Ayrton Senna, McLaren’s latest machine packs the performance to live up to its name.
A 789bhp twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 sits amid a carbon fibre chassis, designed to deliver performance that’s comparable to the McLaren hybrid electric P1 hypercar only without the electric motors.
McLaren has kept tight lipped on 0-62mph performance and top speeds, but what we do know is the car weights a svelte 1,198kg, which when combined with the Senna’s horsepower delivered through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, promises to produce some pretty staggering performance numbers.
But it’s not all about the power-to-weight ratio. The Senna’s design is aggressively angled and scooped, looking a little like McLaren’s 720S and the McLaren GT only with more bits dug out of the bodywork and an intricate double-stack diffuser alongside a massive carbon fibre wing stuck on its rear.
Now it’ll be a question of perspective as to whether you find the Senna attractive or overly angular, but the design is focussed on aerodynamics to provide heaps of downforce for keep the car’s Pirelli P Zero tyres firmly stuck to the road when the pedal hits the metal.
Yet the Senna is still a road-legal car and despite its stripped down carbon fibre swaddled interior, there’s still an infotainment system and a foldable digital dash display. It’s not exactly comfort tech heavy, but the Senna should deliver enough features to keep drivers amused when eating up motorway miles as opposed to tearing up tarmac on the track.
Unfortunately, the Senna doesn’t come cheap. You’ll need £750,000 to get your hands on one, though such a cash splash can be seen as a good deed as McLaren is giving a portion of its profits to a foundation set up in Senna’s name.
But even if you do have a spare three-quarters-of-a-million pounds sitting idle in your bank, you’re too late to buy the Senna as all 500 models of the hypercar have sold out, even though the Senna will only launch after its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show next year.
Related: Meet Lamborghini’s first SUV, the Urus
What do you make of the McLaren Senna; can it live up to its prestigious name? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook.
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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.
