The ultimate road-legal track weapon.
Supercar specialists McLaren are working on a track-weapon that’s being dubbed the ‘P15’ internally, that promises to be the most track-focused road-legal high-performance model the company has ever made.
Already, the company has admitted that it will be putting practicality and day-to-day usability in the back seat (which it won’t have), putting driving feel and performance ahead of all else. The two-seater ultra-performance model is being described as the “purest expression” of form following function, with a design that’s pegged as “brutal.”
The P15 has actually been out testing at the Nürburgring, wearing the body of a 675LT, though it wears various aerodynamic addenda that previews what’s to be expected from the production P15. Proof that McLaren wasn’t kidding about its willingness to sacrifice practicality is evident in a pair of large air channels in the bonnet, where a luggage space would be traditionally, permitting the P15 to achieve better aerodynamic efficiency over the windscreen. Another interesting aerodynamic feature will be the rear spoiler, which is being suggested that the wing itself could feature an F1-inspired drag-reduction system that could see the wing adopt a more drag-efficient profile in certain conditions.
“This is the ultimate distillation of form following function. Whichever part of the car you look at, you will visually understand the function of the components.” – Source
Despite the present McLaren halo model adopting a petrol-electric hybrid system, the P15 is expected to come with only a petrol motor, specifically a 4.0-litre turbo-V8 lifted from the 720S, but with significant upgrades and an uprated turbocharger to produce more than its current outputs. The P15 is speculated to pack something like 586kW (or 789hp), an almost 24kW advantage over the McLaren P1 hybrid hypercar that produces just 562kW from its petrol-electric setup, or so Autocar suggests.
As a result of not having batteries and an electric motor, the P15 will be lighter than the P1, and will likely give it a run for its money. The P15 is expected to tip the scales at just 1.3-tonnes, whereas the P1 weighs in at 1.55-tonnes thanks to the required hardware to run the complex hybrid setup.
The McLaren P15 will be previewed to potential buyers at a private event at the end of the year, while the car will make its public debut sometime next year, along with a confirmed name for it. Only 500 of these Ultimate-series track-weapons will be made, and all of them have been sold ahead of launch at something like £840,000 each (or just under $1.42-million.
If you’re too late for this, there’s also the McLaren BP23 also due next year, which will (finally) succeed the three-seat F1 hypercar that had our attention through the 90s, which you can read about here.
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