McLaren has unveiled a new hypercar successor to the P1 and it will cost £2m.
The McLaren W1 is the third ‘1’ model from the British luxury car manufacturer, after the F1 and P1 models.
And it will be so incredibly fast that it will go from 0 to 186 mph in less than 13 seconds.
399 of the cars will be built. But unfortunately, if you have a lot of money and fancy a new W1, don’t get excited because it’s already too late: all production examples have already been sold.
The W1 is touted as the true successor to the P1 and F1 – only 399 cars will be made and they will all cost around £2 million.
The W1 will accelerate from 0-62mph in 2.7s, 0-124mph in 5.8 seconds and 0-186mph in 12.7 seconds – it’s McLaren’s fastest road-legal car to date.
The W1 is touted as the true successor to the P1.
The P1 was part of the ‘holy trinity’ of hypercars launched in 2013 (along with the LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder), and was the successor to the legendary F1 model designed by Gordon Murray.
The W1 is incredibly fast, breaking all of the British carmaker’s performance records, making it faster than the Senna and Speedtail.
Weighing 1,399kg, the W1 uses Formula 1 aerodynamics and a new 4-litre twin-turbo V8 hybrid drivetrain to generate 1,258bhp, the highest power output ever from a McLaren.
This will provide eye-watering stats of 0-62mph in 2.7s, 0-124mph in 5.8 seconds and 0-186mph in 12.7 seconds.
Despite the spectacular performance figures and the fact that the W1 is McLaren’s “road-legal supercar with the fastest laps and fastest acceleration yet”, McLaren promises that it feels “equally at home in the road and on the track and that it is a “supercar for all occasions”.
Part of this road and track setup is the drive mode selection, which allows owners to switch between Comfort mode (the electric motor deploys at low revs for electric-only driving), Sport mode (which uses hybrid power full and increases the throttle) and Race Mode (which lowers the car substantially and can be set to GP or Sprint depending on whether you want to do laps or a fast lap).
Boost (not for the faint-hearted) deactivates the rear spoiler (there are active front and rear spoilers) and uses the full power of the electric motor.
Weighing 1,399kg, the W1 uses Formula 1 aerodynamics and a new 4-litre twin-turbo V8 hybrid drivetrain to generate 1,258bhp – the highest power output ever from a McLaren.
Aerodynamics distinguish this car with 350 hours spent in the wind tunnel. The result is an F1-inspired floor, an Aerocell carbon fiber monocoque, 3D-printed suspension and integrated seats that allow for a shorter wheelbase.
Even the powertrain is tilted 3 degrees to accommodate the car’s high-downforce rear diffuser.
The 1.4 kWh battery enables 1.6 mile EV range, quiet starting and improved performance.
The W1’s exterior design revolves around the central Aerocell (the carbon fiber cabin), with everything else done to save seconds: the A-pillars are the thinnest ever seen, there is no rear window and the anhedral doors (wings of gull, but not called gullwing) and that active long-tail rear spoiler.
It looks as efficient in drag and downforce delivery as it is.
The W1 comes with eye-catching anhedral doors: they are gullwing doors by another name
Active long tail rear wing: ‘Boost’ mode disables it to increase sprint speed
The interior of the cabin is completely new and the custom options owners can choose from are almost limitless. McLaren also receives praise for using a large amount of recycled or discarded materials.
The seats are fixed to the monocoque, there is a movable pedal box and the footwell is raised to give the driver the feeling of being in a Le Mans prototype. Even the sun visors are made of carbon fiber.
It’s techy for a hypercar, with an eight-inch screen with Apple CarPlay and USB-C, just two buttons on the small, flat-bottomed steering wheel, and Bowers and Wilkins speakers.
The interior of the cabin is completely new and the custom options owners can choose from are almost limitless. McLaren receives praise for using a lot of recycled or off-cut materials
It’s pretty high-tech for a hypercar, with an eight-inch screen with Apple CarPlay and USB-C, just two buttons on the small, flat-bottomed steering wheel, and Bowers and Wilkins speakers.
Joining the Polestar 4 in the fake rear-view mirror category, the W1 has no rear window, so uses a digital mirror, and equally unusually the start button, gear selection and racing mode button are all up top.
In the 117 liter space behind the front seats there is practically only room for two weekend bags, so drivers should remember to pack light.
McLaren says the car’s final price of around £2 million (including UK tax) depends on the level of customization, but the W1 comes with a comprehensive warranty (4-year vehicle; 6-year HV battery) and 4 years. The service plan complements a unique ownership experience.
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