Words: Charlie Thomas
The McLaren P1 is nothing short of a revelation and has, with the help of the LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder, changed the world of supercars forever. Its performance is quite staggering, but its refined usability is what has surprised many and its ability to silently cruise through town centres in full hybrid mode is really something to behold.
The boffins behind the P1 decided that the Earth-shattering speed of the road car wasn’t quite enough though, so this is what they’ve come up with; the McLaren P1 GTR. Whilst you won’t be able to pop to the shops in hybrid mode in this – it’s not even road-legal – the GTR promises to eclipse the the standard car on a circuit, thanks to a number of performance and design changes.
The GTR is designed to offer the ultimate track experience, promising what McLaren says will be ‘the best driver’s car in the world’. In light of this, the Woking boys have decided to optimise the car’s aerodynamics. The active spoiler of the road car has been replaced with a mammoth fixed-wing get-up, which will aid traction through all phases of cornering. The wing, coupled with new GT-style front splitter and rear diffuser will likely mean that the P1’s record-breaking ability to generate 600kg of downforce will be triumphed also.
The P1 GTR is no slouch in a straight line either, as the twin-turbo V8 has been tuned from 903bhp to 986bhp. The full acoustics of the monstrous engine will be unleashed through an unsilenced exhaust system, which exits through two huge pipes, which dominate the rear end of what is arguably one of the most focussed cars to ever come out of McLaren’s factory. All of this performance comes at a hefty price tag of £1.98million and, only 35 of the 375 P1 road car owners will be offered one, making them ultra-exclusive too. They will go on sale in just under a year, after production of the standard P1 will cease.
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