Next McLaren hypercar to be named Speedtail
British supercar firm confirms upcoming ‘hyper-GT’ will use Speedtail name, with just 106 set to be made
McLaren may traditionally be associated with using alphanumeric designations for its cars, but in 2017 it broke that tradition with the reveal of the Senna — and it’s set to do so again.
Set to be fully unveiled later this year, the British firm has confirmed its upcoming ‘hyper-GT’ (previously known only by the codename BP23) will use the name Speedtail.
Why? Well, it hasn’t actually said, although we can guess it has something to with its monstrous top speed goal. McLaren expects the car to do exceed the legendary F1’s 243mph top speed, with the aid of a petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain.
That aside, little has been revealed about the Speedtail. Just 106 examples are set to be made of the ‘hyper-GT’ and, just before you start reaching down your sofa for spare change, all examples of the £1.6 million machine have been reserved.
The Speedtail will be the third entry in the McLaren ‘Ultimate Series’ range, following on from the P1 in 2013 and the recently-released Senna. The former was the first hybrid car for McLaren, utilising KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) which gave the driver the capacity for a short ‘power boost’ on demand.
In contrast, the Senna uses just an internal combustion engine taken from the 720S. It is heavily reworked though, delivering 789bhp and 800Nm of torque, capable of taking the hardcore machine from 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds and on to a 211mph top speed.
