The most extreme road car in McLaren’s history is set to make its debut later this year.
Autocar UK has reported the new car, Codenamed ‘P15’, is said to feature an 588kW engine with a stripped out interior and overall weight of less than 1,300kg, the new model will be the second in McLaren’s Ultimate Series range after the hybrid P1.
Designed to be the most extreme, track-ready but road legal car in the line-up, McLaren’s engineers have reportedly been given the freedom to prioritise performance over everything else and the P15 is said to be faster on a racing circuit than any McLaren, bar the track-only P1 GTR.
At its heart is a tweaked version of McLaren’s 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 said to produce around 789bhp (588kW) – making it more powerful than the 727bhp (542kW) produced by the road-going P1’s engine, but below the 903bhp (673kW) peak achieved when the P1’s electric motor kicks it.
However, the car’s weight is said to have been slashed by the use of McLaren’s latest Monocage II one-piece carbonfibre tub, and when combined with a race-inspired two-seater interior and no P1-style electrical powertrain, that should mean the P15 tips the scales at less than 1,300kg.
Against the 1,547kg P1, that would give the P15 an even better power-to-weight ratio. Straight-line performance is expected to match the P1’s figures of 0-100km/h in 2.7 secs and a quarter mile time of 10.2 seconds.
Autocar UK's interpretation of what the P15 could look. Photos / Supplied
The car’s brutal styling is said to be a case of form following function with carbon bodywork used only where it delivers performance, rather than aesthetic, benefit. Active aerodynamics, with self-adjusting spoilers and diffuser are expected to dominate.
The official reveal will take place later this year, restricted to existing McLaren customers and potential buyers, followed by an official public debut at March 2018’s Geneva Motor Show. A price tag of around £840,000 in the UK (NZ$1.46 million) is mooted with production limited to just 500 cars.
While other McLaren models such as the 675 have spawned Longtail (LT) and Spider open-top variants, the track focused natured of the P15 has ruled these out. However, as it will be a road car, there is the potential for a track-only GTR version as McLaren did with the P1 and P1 GTR.
