McLaren P1 | Spotted
The GMA T.50 is here to pick up where the F1 left off. So where does that leave the P1?
Very obviously Gordon Murray has set out to spiritually succeed the F1 with the T.50 hypercar, and it looks like his company has done a mighty fine job of it. But the V12-powered hypercar is not the first to try and pick up where the F1 left off. McLaren has already had a shot at the title with the P1, launched to great fanfare in 2013. Like its forebear, it was most intent on setting new benchmarks for performance – and it did so in the face of two similarly bold rivals.
P1 versus LaFerrari versus Porsche 918, three hybrid hypercars that went about their business in very different ways but ultimately came to achieve the same thing. Technological overload. All mated stonking engines with electrification, producing around 900hp and achieving sub-three-second 0-62mph times in that era just before such things became the norm. Leaps were taken forward. Everyone had a favourite one, sure, but each model demanded respect for the advancement it represented.
It's six years since that holy trinity went head-to-head, and opinions have solidified. The 918 is often regarded as the most rounded package, despite it being the least potent of the pile. While the LaFerrari is often said to be the one to stir the soul thanks to its V12 engine. The P1, on the other hand, is often considered the maddest of the lot, with the hardest-hitting boost from its hybrid powerplant and most prevalent expulsion of blue-hot flames from its letterbox exhaust. It's technically awe inspiring, affirming that McLaren Automotive wasn’t just mixing it with the big boys, but intent on holing them beneath the waterline.
Pretty bold when you consider that when the P1 arrived, McLaren’s road car division was only three years old. Mind you, it had plenty of technical prowess to build on. Engineers took the MonoCell carbonfibre tub, first used by the 12C, and evolved it to create the stronger MonoCage, adding the full upper roof structure and a snorkel intake. It force fed the Ricardo-built twin-turbo 3.8-litre mounted behind, delivering 916hp when combined with an E motor, which itself was driven by a 4.7 kWh lithium-ion battery to enable a 6.8-mile EV range. Power was sent to the rear wheels, like the LaFerrari and in contrast to the all-wheel drive 918, and 0-124mph came in 6.8 seconds. The P1 was the most ballistic of the trio.
The P1 got McLaren’s most aggressive road chassis setup, too, with a track-only Race mode that made it squat and the enormous active rear wing stand fully elevated. The car got a 50/50 split of active and passive aero to back the raft of innovation that was crammed into its engine bay. Some thought the P1 to be the all-round fastest of the holy trinity and it’s hard to disagree, given just how extreme the overall setup was – and still is by modern standards. Imagine what McLaren could do with its latest 4.0-litre V8 and 2020 electrification tech.
Such is the rate of progress, though, the P1 is already looking like a product of a bygone era. Now, electrification's part and parcel of an industry finding it ever harder to duck under emissions limits; not even Gordon Murray’s manual, naturally-aspirated T.50 could completely eschew the advantages of (admittedly very mild) electrification. In the P1 of course the hybrid system ranks as a significant component, not just there for efficiency, but to inject noticeable surges of torque. It’s probable that even in a future of all-wheel drive electric hypercars, a P1 will never feel anything less than fantastically fast thanks to that powertrain.
At just fifteen grand over a million quid, then, today’s Spotted is the cheapest route to accessing that timeless brand of performance. It’s also arguably the best looking P1 advertised, with Volcano Red paintwork accompanied by brilliant silver rims and an all-black interior. The design remains one of the most menacing creations, and with 7,000 miles on the clock, this one’s seen some proper action - not that the photos suggest the car's exterior and interior have been anything other than totally cherished. Wherever it ends up next, here's hoping it will kept in regular use as testimony to its own chapter in history. The P1 has earned that much - no matter how good Gordon Murray's second album turns out to be.
SPECIFICATION | MCLAREN P1
Engine: 3,799cc twin-turbo V8 with integrated electric motor
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power (hp): 916 (Engine 737@7,300rpm plus 179 from electric motor)
Torque (lb ft): 664 (Engine 531@4,000rpm plus 192 from electric motor)
CO2: 194g/km
Year registered: 2012
Recorded mileage: 7,000
Price new: £866,000
Yours for: £1,015,000
Surprised by the amount of work required at the last service given it's only covered 7k miles!
Surprised by the amount of work required at the last service given it's only covered 7k miles!
Also surprised that it’s value is not more considering it’s place in automotive history. Maybe because it’s mileage puts it in no man land. More miles than a garage queen but not enough to make it a “daily” driver.
That sentence, so early in the article, explains so readily both that the author knows very little about the F1 (and indeed T.50) as well as why the P 1 is becoming a little unloved.
The last thing GM/Mclaren cared about with F1 was "performance benchmarks". 0-60, 0-100, lap times of Spa or the Nurburgring - all will be superceded in relatively short order as tech advances.
Having a small, light platform with incredible controls responses, levels of useability/practicality/comfort and a complete disregard for wider fashion and assumed market wisdom are all traits that are timeless.
It's why I covet a F1 above anything else, closely followed by T.50 with Rocket really not far behind.
It's why Veyron/"Holy Trinity" /Valkyrie/Project 1 are interesting, but ultimately unappealing.
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