British sports car brand to release new flagship model in just weeks – and it’ll follow a legendary motor from the 1990s
A BRITISH sports car brand is set to unveil its new flagship 1 car next month.
McLaren has set the time and date for 1pm on October 6.
The new motor follows on from the McLaren F1 in the 1990s and its successor the hybrid P1 which launched in 2013.
Few details are available and even the name hasn’t been revealed but a short taster video has been published on social media to whet the appetite of petrolheads.
The footage does suggest its moniker will be a new take on the 1 name.
McLaren says in the video: “A 1 car challenges the limits of possibility, reflecting the fine poetry between design and engineering.
“These timeless, uncompromising vehicles epitomise a generation.”
Beyond that description, little else is known.
Expectations are though, given that the P1 marked the launch point of the manufacturer’s hybrid venture, the new vehicle will feature some degree of electrification in one form or other.
Exactly what that is though, remains under wraps for now.
Elsewhere in the released footage, it says the new 1 car will be: “The next icon, the next benchmark.
“The best looking, sounding, performing…
“A 1 car has to define a generation and absolutely be the pinnacle and representation of McLaren DNA.”
It also remains to be seen what McLaren has put under the bonnet.
It might have opted to go for its tried-and-tested turbocharged V8 – or it might have developed something entirely new with a hybrid system in its heart.
With the new motor being at the top of its road-car offerings, fans can pretty much be assured of a focus on aerodynamics and a large degree of Formula One-inspired engineering.
Both the F1 and the P1 represented the peak of what the sports car maker was capable of in their respective eras and the new 1 motor is expected to follow in that tradition.
Once again though the new 1 car is likely to have a minimalist dashboard – but other than that it all remains a mystery.
World’s fastest road car
THE world's fastest road car with a top speed of 300mph emerged for sale and is expected to sell for around £4.3 million.
The black and orange 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ Coupe is one of just 30 examples made.
The Italian hypercar, which has a 7,933cc Quad-Turbocharged W16 petrol engine and is capable of 1,578bhp, is set to spark a bidding war at Bonhams in Scottsdale, Arizona, US.
They describe it as ‘one of the most sought-after and show stopping beautiful’ road legal vehicles in the world.
It is number 9 in the production line and has just 255 miles on the clock from factory testing.
British former Le Mans winner Andy Wallace clocked 304.777mph in the car’s Chiron prototype in 2019 at the Volkswagen AG Test Track in Ehra-Lessien, Germany.
A Bonhams spokesperson said: “To attack the record, Bugatti turned to the team led by Andy Wallace, who already had two such records under his belt, the McLaren F1 at 240.1mph and the Veyron SS at 267.8mph.
“The Bugatti team, assembled at the VAG Ehra-Lessien test track, Wallace and crew kept pushing until the final day, when at maximum acceleration, an unprecedented 304.777 mph was registered with the Germany authorities.”
Louis Frankel, Bonhams car specialist, added: “This is the quintessence of hypercars.
“Bugatti has an unparalleled reputation in high-performance vehicles and the Chiron Super Sport 300+ is a symbol of that automotive excellence.
Fans though only have a couple of weeks to wait before all is revealed.
The iconic McLaren P1 – one of the only 375 ever made – is one of the fastest hypercars ever produced that can hit the hair-raising top speed of 217mph.
And the second ever McLaren P1 produced went under the hammer in July this year for £1.8million.
It came after another rare McLaren supercar with just 56 miles on the clock and one previous owner was up for sale for £2million.
The blue Speedtail – one of only 106 made – is one of the fastest model to date and can reach a staggering top speed of 250mph.
McLaren’s first-ever Hyper-GT has just three seats – one of which is centrally positioned – and boasts a 1,034bhp, 4.0 litre, twin-turbocharged V8 engine.