From the Wall Street Journal: Odds are you're never going to own the greatest sports car ever made, the new McLaren P1. Or drive it. Or even see it in the flesh. The British auto maker promises to build no more than 375 surpassingly brilliant, end-times road machines, more noble than erotic, and it has already promised them all for $1.2-million (U.S.) or thereabouts. In due course, most of these cars will be loaded onto jitneys and shipped to Russia, China and the Middle East, there to fill the coffers of some lovely people, I'm sure. For the full article, please click here.
Listen to the McLaren P1
Power
3.8-litre V8 twin turbo engine with a light-weight electric motor, and a
7-speed SSG transmission
Drivetrain layout
Powertrain modes
E-mode, Normal, Sport, Track, and Race.
Body
Carbon fibre monocage with aluminium front and rear frames
Brakes
Akebono layered carbon ceramic discs with forged and hardened steel
bells
Tires
Pirelli P Zero Corsa 245/35 ZR19 / 315/30 ZR20
Dry weight
1,395 kg (3,075 lb)
Dimensions
1,946 mm wide (2,144 with mirrors); 1,188 mm high; 4,588 mm
long. Wheelbase: 2,670 mm
Price
$1.2-million (U.S). All 375 are already spoken for.
Height
In race mode, the hydro-pneumatic suspension system lowers the car by 50 mm to 1,138 mm. For comparison, a Honda Civic is about 1400 mm high.
Production Line
The McLaren Technology Centre is located in the town Woking in Surrey, England.
Acceleration
0-100 km/h: 2.8 seconds
0-300 km/h: 6.8 seconds
0-300 km/h: 16.5 seconds
Maximum speed: 350 km/h (electronically limited)
Fuel economy
Designed By Air
Nürburgring
The McLaren P1 has completed a lap of the famed Nürburgring track in Germany in under seven minutes, at an average speed of over 178 km/h.
Nürburgring Circuit
154 turns, 300 metres of elevation changes and cornering forces of up to 2g.
Watch
Nürburgring and Formula One
The course was on the Formula One circuit until 1976, when it was dropped for safety reasons.