Turns out the brand new 650S Sprint didn’t even get a look in at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, due largely to the unveil of this, the brand new P1 GTR. I’ll give you a second to draw breath…
…all good? Right…
[Not a valid template]Before mortgaging your home and left kidney to get on the waiting list, note that at present the new GTR is a design concept. Development though has already begun on ‘the final model’, McLaren announcing that production will begin in a little under 12 months.
The new GTR – based on the existing P1 road car – arrives twenty years since the original F1 GTR started testing ahead of a successful debut sportscar campaign in 1995. You don’t get much more successful than winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
And as you can imagine, with the new P1 GTR set to be ‘the most track-tailored and most powerful model produced by McLaren Special Operations to date’, its road car base has undergone a few changes. A more aggressive front splitter goes hand-in-hand with a newly increased front track (up to 80mm) for greater prowess through the corners. Looking past the ‘air snorkel’ on the roof, the wing mirrors have also been set back into the A-pillars for greater aerodynamics. New race-spec suspension and a lower, fixed ride height have also been incorporated, whilst bodywork at the rear has been ‘shrink-wrapped’ around the carbon fibre MonoCell chassis for improved efficiency.
Influence from McLaren’s Formula 1 outfit comes in the shape of slick Pirelli tyres thrown onto the 19-inch lightweight motorsport alloys and a DRS-style rear wing. There’s even an ERS push-to-pass system. The established 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 remains albeit now chucking 986bhp courtesy of a new, lightweight electric motor.
And if you’re curious to hear the story behind the GTR’s striking livery, the McLaren silver and original McLaren orange pay homage to the colours worn by the original F1 GTR test model, chassis #01R.
