McLaren has finally revealed the price and performance figures for its P1 supercar. The hybrid P1 will launch from 0-62mph in less than three seconds, hit 124mph in under seven seconds, and reach 186mph in around 17 seconds, according to McLaren’s official figures. The P1’s top speed is electronically limited to 217mph.
It’s thanks to a 903bhp powertrain that twins a 3.8-litre bi-turbo V8 with an electric motor, mating instant torque and top-end shove. McLaren claims the P1 will hit 186mph five seconds faster than its famous F1 road car grandfather.
And the price? It’ll cost £866,000 to UK buyers, and just 375 P1s will be produced. Customer deliveries start in autumn 2013, with the US expected to be the car’s biggest market.
How does the P1s performance compare to other supercars?
Porsche claims its own hybrid supercar, the 918 Spyder, has 747bhp, but will also dip below three seconds to 62mph, and hit 203mph flat out. The 918 has struggled to fight the flab, weighing in at around 1700kg – 350kg more than it would without the hybrid system.
Unsurprisingly, the P1 has the old McLaren F1 easily licked off the line: the old-timer takes 3.2sec to hit 62mph and 9.4sec to reach 124mph. Of course, the car from the Nineties trumps the P1 for top speed, topping out at 231mph (240mph sans rev limiter).
The P1’s top speed matches a Lamborghini Aventador and Ferrari Enzo, but lags slightly behind the 220mph Noble M600 (a snip at £200,000). Ferrari is still yet to release official pictures or specifications for its Enzo-succeeding hybrid supercar, codenamed F150.
So is this the official customer-spec P1?
It is indeed: it’s the first time we’ve seen the showroom-ready car. Looks familiar? that’s because there are only two visual differences from the 2012 Paris motor show concept car. Two vents have emerged ahead of the front wheels to aid cooling, and the engine bay’s rear grille is a much finer mesh, through which you’ll spot the rams which actuate the P1’s enormous rear wing. For more on the wing’s F1-style drag reduction system, click here for CAR’s previous coverage.
Any other new McLaren P1 details?
Those mirror-finish brake discs aren’t blinged-up for vanity’s sake: it’s actually due to the aerospace-grade carbon ceramic. The brake disc material dissapates heat more efficiently than regular carbon discs, and is even lighter to boot. McLaren says the P1 will be able to pull up like a GT3 racing car – something at odds with its eco-friendly 6-mile electric-power range.
Still no weight figure for the McLaren P1?
Nope. We know how powerful, how fast, and how much it is, but despite much talk of the car’s lightweight carbon construction, there’s still no word on the P1’s official kerbweight. With the battery pack alone adding 96kg, plus the extra heft of the motors and cooling components for that hybrid powertrain, does the McLaren P1 have a (relative) weight problem?
We’ll find out when the production-spec P1 is displayed on the McLaren stand at the Geneva motor show from 5 March.