McLaren P1 Supercar First Look

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"TheMcLarenP1 will be the result of 50 years of racing and road car heritage. Twenty years ago we raised the supercar performance car with theMcLarenF1 and our goal with the McLaren P1 is to redefine it once again." - McLaren Chairman Ron Dennis

The most important thing you should know about the McLaren P1 show car is that it looks much different in person than it does in the three photos McLaren released last week. Because three dimensions and dark, recessed pockets and scoops don't translate well into two dimensions, those initial photos looked, well, like the 12C put on a kit-car clown suit. Or worse. But, I'm very happy to report, that is not the case in real life. The P1 is quite dramatic, quite interesting, and quite different-looking not only from the 12C, but from any other car. And, frankly, the P1 makes the now not-such-a-hypercar 12C look a bit frumpy. That said, the word "beautiful" didn't run through my mind once, and I got to stare at the P1 for more than 30 minutes.

We still don't know many technical details about the car, but we do know a few things. For one, unlike the carbon-fiber MonoCell used in the 12C that is similar to the tub/monocoque of an F1 race car, the P1 uses a carbon-fiber monocoque and a "roof safety structure" to create what McLaren calls a MonoCage. The roof structure not only strengthens the car and increases rigidity, but also pulls air into the engine from various points including the central, top-mounted snorkel. This is similar in practice to how the Aston Martin One-77 pulls air into its plenums through carbon-fiber body panels. For another, the McLaren P1 uses more Formula 1 technology than any other road car in history. McLaren claims 1320 pounds of downforce at 125 mph. As McLaren puts it, "That is approximately five times as much downforce as the [12C]. Its margin over most other high performance supercars is even greater." McLaren also states that the P1's power to weight ratio will be about 600 horsepower per ton. How much does the new car weigh? Not sure, but around 3000 pounds isn't a bad guess. This sparkle-orange Parisian show car is about 97% of what customers will get their hands on in 12 months.

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It's long been said that Porsche designers have the hardest job in the business because the next 911 has to look just like a 911. However, I'm thinking the actual hardest job in car-dom belongs to Frank Stephenson, McLaren's head of design. Why? Because he is a slave to whatever the wind tunnel spits out. After having a peek at the P1, I'm willing to bet it's the most aerodynamically advanced production (concept) car extant. I'll give you an example. Used "dirty" air from the front-mounted radiators (one set of several, however, McLaren declined to talk about anything under the skin -- these just happened to be in plain sight and probably cool the cabin) is vented out of the twin hood nostrils between the top mounted snorkel (which draws "clean" air into the intake manifold) and the two vents on top of the daylight opening on the leading edge of the dual-hinged dihedral doors. Fancy stuff, but hard to cover with carbon fiber, methinks. Mr. Stephenson says differently, stating that design and engineering worked on the car together from the start. But if DaimlerChysler taught us anything (or McLaren-Mercedes, for that matter), it's that there are no mergers of equals.

Back to the P1's wildness. Each door has three additional intake paths running into the rear of the car, most likely cooling whatever powertrain it is that sits just behind the two occupants. That's right, unlike McLaren's legendary center-steered, three-passenger F1 road car, the P1 conventionally seats two. Why? Several reasons, but crash laws, mostly. Also, seating for three would force the car to be longer and wider than it is. (McLaren says it's about the size of a 911.) The interior is being kept a secret via totally tinted glass because, as PR guy confided in me over dinner, McLaren needs to keep the media interested in the car until the production car debuts in Geneva in March. Get ready for information to and photos to trickle out until then. Interestingly, while forwards visibility looks to be jet fighter-ish (like the F1 before it), there doesn't seem to be any glass behind the cabin whatsoever. But there are two glass panels on the roof to let light in.

Back to that wind tunnel. In addition to the front splitter, which is also riddled with air intakes, there's a rear diffuser (the entire car is carbon fiber or titanium) that's the biggest I've ever seen on a production-intent car. It looks like it came right off a GT3 car. Supposedly it works the same, too. Again, McLaren would not comment on the suspension, but it had better be hydraulic (like the 12C's) just so the body can be raised to clear the diffuser away from obstacles. And it most likely is, as McLaren said the car is sitting on the show stand in its race mode, which is about an inch lower than it would normally sit. Holding our attention behind the car, the taillights/indicators are black and trace the wild-looking rear pieces, but when you step on the brake/hit the turn signal level or switch on the headlights, they glow red. There's also that massive rear wing, which is flush into the P1's curvy rear deck when lowered but can raise up in two positions. The first position is 4.7 inches (120mm) and the second is nearly a foot up (300mm). Of course, like on the 12C, the wing can act as an airbrake by tilting forward 29 degrees. In addition to the wing, there are two underbody flaps in front of the steering rack that can open up to 60 degrees to increase downforce and improve overall aero. McLaren also claims the flaps will "boost driver confidence." While trick and necessary for aero, there is something boy racer-ish about the big wing.

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Perhaps even more troubling to an owner -- or a potential owner's eye -- than the giant diffuser are the barge boards. Think of them as running boards you can't step on that widen the car as much as possible to increase downforce. They also look as if they will scrape on every single thing. But, because they have to be at the extreme edges of the P1, the nifty "exoskeleton" door treatment Stephenson pulled off is diminished. And there's something else that bothers me about the design of the P1.

Hidden in plain sight are several Easter eggs. See the shape of the headlights? That's the McLaren swoosh. The shape of the hood venting nostrils? The McLaren swoosh. Shape of the intakes on top of the doors? Swoosh. The taillights? You see where this is going. While I guess it's cute or clever or... something to hide the company's logo in the bodywork, is it good design? I mean, it was kinda neat when Jeep stuck their grille in their headlights, but this swoosh-party seems a bit gimmicky.

But yeah, enough of the design critique. This is a monumentally important supercar, as any car that even tries to associate itself with the F1 surely will be. So, what's under the (rear) hood? How much horsepower does it have? How fast can it go? Etc.? Don't know, don't know, don't know. True to its word, McLaren wouldn't say boo about what's under the skin (for those of you worried, the P1 will have windshield wipers). Rumors continue to swirl (800 hp? 1000 hp with the aid of a hybrid system? More? Less?), but McLaren did say it is "not going after the Veyron" as going fast in a straight line is "relatively easy."

Making "the best driver's car," however, is challenging. So, instead of going after a V-max number, they're going for a time around a track. Which track? Well, the obvious one is the mighty Nurburgring Nordschliefe, but I quizzed the PR folks a little and while they wouldn't say, it doesn't sound like they're going with the obvious choice. My best guess would be Le Mans, because the F1 GTR had its biggest success there when it won the whole enchilada in 1995, even beating the prototype-class cars. Put another way, a 'Ring time is meaningless to McLaren, but there's some real marketing value in producing a street car that can outrun its most famous GT car. However, they wouldn't say a word (though I did hear mutterings about a GT5 and a GT7 -- not sure what those entail). At any rate, McLaren claims the P1 will be the best driving road car ever made, as well as the best driving track car. As soon as we know more details, you will know them, too.

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