Thursday 24th January 2013

Time For Tea? McLaren P1 vid

McLaren teases P1 hypercar with track footage and scenes of men with laptops looking serious

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Lock up your daughters, the hypercars are coming to town! Chris Harris may have asked recently exactly what use they'll be to anyone but McLaren, Porsche and Ferrari are all working on vehicles that push the boundaries of road car performance (that you can't actually enjoy on any road, anywhere) and bringing unheard of tech to those willing to invest seven-figure sums for the pleasure.

Go on then, name that track...

Easy to be cynical when all you've got is a motor show concept and a press pack to go on. Less so having seen a video of the thing running, the thing in this instance being McLaren's P1. And damned cool it looks too. A blue exhaust flame akin to that on the Millennium Falcon helps with those hypercar allusions and lots of film of earnest young men with laptops and graphs and stuff overlaid on top of footage of a P1 test car out there giving it some on an undisclosed test track underlines This Is Serious.

Marks for outstanding geekery extend to the camouflage applied to this test car, McLaren admitting to an 'obsession for detail' that means the disruptive pattern applied to the bodywork is actually comprised of outlines of circuits significant to McLaren's five-decade racing history. OK, OK, that's pretty cool.

Anyway, make a brew, brace yourself for some hypercar hyperbole and enjoy the vid.

 

 

[Jem1]

I know it's pointless, but I still want one.

[gda_scooby]

It seems to be either a very well surfaced track, or very good body control - hardly any movement at all.

[Tubbycharged]

Pointless for the road, but a fantastic showcase of British engineering nonetheless

[JohnGoodridge]

Nice and all, but makes me hanker after an F1 all the more. Sorry Macca.

[WCZ]

four wheels, two at each side

[georgetuk]

Looks great, shouldn't see many on the roads but it doesn't matter if you are rich enough to afford one!

Would love to have a go on a track!

[Evo]

I've been fortunate (due to my work location) to watch this being developed and I have to admit I also get more excited when a McLaren F1 turns up for shakedowns.

The P1 has yet to grow on me.

[Stuart]

Looks great. Anyone know where it was shot? Whichever track it is has some interesting features to focus the attention - a run off area consisting of 10 feet of scrub, and then 30 feet of granite cliff. It makes Goodwood look like a Tilke designed tarmac run-off fest...

[Caractacus]

Looks and sounds utterly drool inducing.

• Runs off to national lottery to by THE winning ticket for tomorrow...*

[mazdachris]

Could do with some machine guns and maybe a pair of wings, but otherwise that's pretty damn near perfect. Well done, McLaren. Well done.

[shouldbenicholas]

Oh dear lord

[cure]

Do they assume none of their costumers will understand any of those numbers anyway, so they trow in some random data to make the video look high-tech? I don't like the idea of that, I just hope I'm not growing a beard. (0:54-1:08)

[rhinochopig]

In the second picture I can certainly see the F1 lineage. The dazzle camo it's wearing helps hide all the vents and slashes.

[pimpchez]

looks like something i used to draw as a teenager .

If the carrera gt didnt exist ,this would be my ultimate car .So full of win i cant believe its not come from lamborghini or pagani let alone the white coats at Mclaren

[GingerJonny]

Is it just me.. Or is the cammo wrap to disguise it, covered in race track's?

[kambites]

Hmm, it looks and sounds pretty much like any other modern supercar to me. I'm sure it'll have very impressive numbers, but I don't really see what all the fuss is about.

[MonteV]

The point is, to me at least, it's not a Ferrari which can only be tested by the press if it is officially sanctioned by the manufacturer. To me that is more trustworthy. When I first saw the P1 it looked... Japanese. But it is growing on me. Swoopiness from the logo to the body, and lights. Yup I like it. I find that not making it a center seat three seater is a mistake as it would build a unique brand recognition to differentiate it even more from Ferrari, Pagani, Lamborghini, Koenigsegg or any of the others. Besides it would fit my entire family (yeah I know, it really is a family car).

[UK952]

Does the rear wing really have to obscure the view through the rear window?

[Galileo]

It's look reminds me of the Porsche GT1 of 1998 Le Mans fame. Both stunningly beautiful cars.

[cookie1600]

GingerJonny said:

Is it just me.. Or is the cammo wrap to disguise it, covered in race track's?

Didn't feel it was worth reading the article then, just watched the film!!!