LEGENDARY F1 competitor turned sportscar-maker McLaren has introduced a jaw-dropping carbon-fibre-bodied successor to its two former flagships: the McLaren F1 and the McLaren P1.
Known as W1 – which could ruffle a couple of feathers among the many mental property holders at what was HSV – the brand new 938kW/1340Nm rear-wheel drive plug-in hybrid (PHEV) packs some awe-inspiring statistics to go together with its visible and (likelyy) aural drama.
Priced from circa £2.0 million ($A3,873,000) in McLaren’s native Britain, the W1 is already bought out as all 399 examples had been spoken for earlier than mere mortals obtained a whiff of its existence.
It’s unclear if any will make it Down Below, though it’s doubtless given it is a market identified for its well-heeled collectors and hypercar fanatics – together with one McLaren buyer who hoisted their Senna GTR 57 flooring to make use of as furnishings of their Melbourne penthouse house.
The W1’s arrival opens a brand new chapter in McLaren’s ‘1’ automobile lineage and has been created with “McLaren’s World Championship mindset underpinned by the ideas that outline an actual supercar”.
All this interprets to an epic all-new twin-turbocharged (twin scroll) 90-degree 4.0-litre V8 with a flat aircraft crank supplemented by electrical propulsion from the plug-in hybrid system to create the very best energy output of any McLaren but and, based on the maker, better than all “core” rivals.
The ‘MHP-8′ V8, which redlines at 9200rpm, contributes 682kW for a per-litre output of 171kW – a brand new file for McLaren.
Moreover, the W1 receives an additional 255kW of shove from a power-dense E-module that integrates the electrical motor and management unit for diminished weight and optimised packaging.
Battery recharging to 80 per cent might be achieved in as little as 22 minutes.
Aiding efficiency is the automobile’s light-weight engineering and intensive use of carbon fibre, retaining its mass down to only 1399kg, which McLaren says provides the W1 best-in-class power-to-weight ratio of 670kW per tonne – one other precedent for road-going McLarens.
Maintaining all of it beneath management are F1-inspired floor impact aerodynamics and a Race mode that McLaren says is a “world-first, radical ‘street to trace’ character transformation, reducing journey top by 37mm on the entrance and 17mm on the rear and interesting as much as 1000kg of downforce”.
Different lively aero methods – once more stated to be essentially the most superior in a road-legal McLaren so far – centred round a “revolutionary” McLaren Energetic Lengthy Tail rear wing that extends rearwards by 300mm and is only one of a number of patents filed for aerodynamic improvements on the automobile.
In onerous numbers, it means the W1 is the fastest-accelerating and fastest-lapping road-legal McLaren so far, faster than a Speedtail to 300km/h in a straight-line and three.0 seconds a lap forward of a McLaren Senna on McLaren’s reference monitor.
Acceleration is underlined by an outstanding 5.0 seconds sprint from 0-200km/h and 0-300km/h in beneath 12.7 seconds. Sure, 300km/h with the mannequin electronically restricted to 350km/h v-max.
All this from a rear-wheel drive platform that’s geared toward offering “pure” driver management and engagement which McLaren says is made doable by intensive F1 know-how “that solely McLaren as a racing firm can ship”.
The mannequin rides on a brand new ‘McLaren Race Energetic Chassis Management III’ suspension setup with the bandwidth for on-road consolation and hunkered-down monitor efficiency in Race mode, whereas the tiller is linked to McLaren’s ‘Hydraulic Efficiency Steering’ stated to optimise really feel and suggestions.
Stopping duties are through carbon ceramic 390mm entrance and rear discs, the previous with six pistons, the latter with 4.
Light-weight cast wheels, 19-inch on the entrance and 20-inch on the rear carry Pirelli P- Zero Trofeo rubber.
Energy is fed to the rear axle through an eight-speed transmission with E-reverse, coupled with new hydraulic digital differential.
The bespoke chassis is known as a McLaren Aerocell and is a carbon fibre monocoque with anhedral doorways optimised for aerodynamic efficiency, once more, designed and constructed utilizing motorsport methods.
Entrance suspension is F1-inspired and is mounted immediately into the Aerocell with externally seen entrance arms. Key elements are 3D-printed for weight optimisation, some fabricated in titanium.
The lengths McLaren went to with the inside are stated to make sure “unmatched supercar driver ergonomics” accentuated by visibility on street and monitor in addition to seats, pedals, steering wheel and first controls that may all be moved.
And if the lavatory inventory W1 isn’t sufficient, there’s all the time McLaren Particular Operations (MSO) that gives nearly limitless bespoke choices together with a brand new InnoKnit tailor-made inside materials.
However the guarantee leaves rather a lot to be desired for the multi-million greenback worth at 4 years for the car six years for the hybrid battery and a four-year service plan.
So, having sorted out its financials (hopefully) with an injection of funds from the Kingdom of Bahrain, and a few incoming new fashions, McLaren is transferring ahead at a fee of knots specializing in what it does finest: Racing in F1 and making sportscars.
In line with McLaren Automotive CEO Michael Leiters, the brand new W1 “is a celebration of each the excellence of the enduring McLaren F1 and McLaren P1 and the manifestation of McLaren’s World Championship mindset”.
“With our new Final supercar, we’re once more pushing the boundaries of actual supercar efficiency with an epic hybrid powertrain that includes our all-new MHP-8 V8 engine, essentially the most superior aerodynamic platform of any McLaren street automobile and intensive use of superior light-weight supplies.
“This enables us to engineer a supreme monitor driving expertise from the identical automobile that provides unparalleled driving enjoyment on the street.
“System 1-derived aerodynamics, pure rear-wheel drive and McLaren hydraulic efficiency steering showcase McLaren’s strategy to purposeful innovation as a racing firm that all the time delivers the absolute best efficiency. It’s subsequently no shock that the brand new W1 is our fastest-lapping and fastest-accelerating road-legal automobile ever.
“It additionally supplies the purest driver connection by remaining true to the ideas that underpin the final word supercar driving expertise. This actually is a automobile that solely McLaren may create.”
