Following the
semi-revealing teaser images from just a couple of hours ago, the McLaren Senna is now ready for its proper debut. Set to become the company?s most track-focused model with road-legal status, the new member of the Ultimate Series has been named after the legendary Brazilian Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna da Silva.
Only 500 cars will be made and each sold will benefit the Senna Foundation charity. Unsurprisingly, all of them have already found their rightful owners. Price? ?750,000 ($1 million) in the United Kingdom.
Looks are subjective, but there?s no denying the McLaren Senna has a rather unusual design as a consequence of making the body as sleek as possible to boost performance. It represents the epitome of the ?form follows function? principle in an attempt to reduce drag and boost cooling at the same time. From the double rear diffuser to the underfloor scoop and the large rear wing (with active aero bits), the hypercar is the end result of countless hours spent in the wind tunnel.
The see-through glass in the door panels is quite peculiar, while the carbon ceramic brakes lurking behind the wheels wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero Trofeo R tires require seven months to build per disc. Bathed in carbon fiber, the interior cabin adopts a minimalist layout, but still boasts goodies such as an infotainment system, rearview camera, 720S-esque foldable driver?s display, and a sound system. There won?t be two cars with the exact same thin carbon seats as each and every seat will be tailored to its owner.
Moving on to the engine,
it?s the biturbo 4.0-liter V8 as seen in the aforementioned 720S, but in this application it has been dialed to produce 789 horsepower and 590 pound-feet (800 Newton-meters) of torque, which makes it 79 hp and 22 lb-ft (30 Nm) more powerful.
Not only does it pack more punch than the 720S, but it?s also significantly lighter considering it weighs just 1,198 kilograms (2,641 pounds) without any fluids in it whereas the 720S has to carry around an extra 85 kg (187 lbs).
Performance numbers are not available at the time of writing, but you can imagine the latest gem from
McLaren is going to be an absolute rocket given the technical specifications. "Savage performance" is being promised, and you should know that Ayrton Senna?s nephew, Bruno Senna, was directly involved in the development process.
Production will commence in the third quarter of 2018 after a public debut set for March at the Geneva Motor Show. A three-seat
?BP23? will follow in 2019 to serve as a spiritual successor to the iconic McLaren F1. Like the Senna, the ??Hyper-GT? as it?s being described by the folks from Woking is already sold out and will be significantly more exclusive, with only 106 cars planned for production. It will also become a part of the Ultimate Series, joining the P1, track-only P1 GTR, and the Senna.
