McLaren’s P1 successor arrives next month
McLaren has teased its new ‘1’ car to follow the F1 and P1 – and take on Ferrari’s next flagship hypercar
McLaren isn’t shy when it comes to launching hypercars. In the space of less than a decade it’s given us the Senna, Speedtail, Elva, Sabre and Solus GT, but the launch of a McLaren ‘1’ car – a flagship hypercar at the bleeding edge – doesn’t come around very often.
On 6 October McLaren will pull the covers off the successor to the P1, which McLaren Automotive CEO Michael Leiters describes as 'the next icon, the next benchmark'. Being the son of P1 and grandson of F1, the new car couldn’t have bigger shoes to fill.
Few technical details are known about the new hypercar, but if the P1 is anything to go by, it’ll set a benchmark for future McLarens in its design and engineering philosophy. It’ll almost certainly be a hybrid, furthering McLaren's development of electrified powertrains that began with the P1 and continues with today's Artura. Expect it to push out beyond 1000bhp, surpassing the 903bhp P1.
As for how much the electrical elements of the powertrain will contribute to that figure remains to be seen. Part of what made the P1 so spectacular was how its electric motor served to enhance the performance and response of its V8 engine, rather than take over from it. Battery and motor technology has moved on dramatically since the P1, which could allow McLaren to pursue a similar philosophy but with less weight, more power and more sophisticated electronics.
On the other hand, it could introduce more powerful electrified elements – such as an electrically-driven front axle – to pursue more performance and torque vectoring capabilities (with the penalty of extra weight). If McLaren wants to draw from its Formula 1 efforts for the new hypercar, this approach would bring it in line with the impending 2026 powertrain regulations, which will offer an even energy split between ICE and electric power.
The P1’s combustion engine was a heavy development of the V8 used in the 12C, but given that other hypercar manufacturers – namely Bugatti, GMA and Aston Martin – have invested in bespoke engines for their newest seven-figure hypercars, McLaren could do the same.
As with the P1, aero will form an enormous role in harnessing the new hypercar’s performance, so expect active elements and complex aero channels throughout the design. The body will be carbonfibre, of course (so too the chassis), and the styling will inform the next generation of series production McLarens.
Advancements in the chassis department will complement the aero package, potentially with a next-generation version of the hydraulically cross-linked damper tech that features on the 750S.
The P1 successor will join the likes of the Aston Martin Valkyrie, GMA T.50 and Bugatti Tourbillon in a truly spectacular age of hypercars, soon to be joined by a new flagship from Ferrari.
