P15 to be fastest road-going McLaren around a track, reports suggest
Motoring publication leaks details of upcoming hypercar from Woking
The next car in McLaren’s ultimate series will be the manufacturer’s fastest road car around a track, according to a new report.
UK motoring publication Autocar has unveiled details of the upcoming hypercar, codenamed P15, which will be “the most extreme, track-ready but still road-legal” car in the McLaren range.
The P15 will reportedly be powered by an up-rated version of the P1 hypercar’s 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that will develop 789bhp — 62bhp more than in the P1. However, it won’t feature the electric motor.
This, as well as an updated version of McLaren’s Monocage II carbon tub and race-inspired interior, means the P15 will weigh in at less than 1,300kg.
As a result, it will have a better power-to-weight ratio than the P1. It’s expected this will help the P15 annihilate a P1 around the track, as well as at least match, if not better, its 0-60mph time of 2.7 seconds.
The car’s styling is said to be a function-over-form affair, with bodywork styling present only for the sake of performance benefits rather than aesthetic pleasure.
The official reveal of the P15 to McLaren customers is expected later this year — with a public debut at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.
Mark Tisshaw, Autocar editor, said: “McLaren has always been relentless in the pursuit of performance – but with Aston Martin’s upcoming Valkyrie and the Mercedes-AMG Project One set to redefine the rules of the hypercar market, it has to keep ahead of the game. Hence the P15.
“There’s no doubt that this will be an incredible machine, but what McLaren has learned of late is to create a car with a broad dynamic brief. With track performance as its goal, the P15 will obviously be outrageous on a racing circuit, but with that low weight, pared-back cabin and non-hybrid powerplant, it promises to be exceptional on the road too. If it does that, it will have created arguably an even better car than the P1 – some achievement.”
We approached McLaren to confirm the reports but they did not reply for comment.
