McLaren has confirmed that it is indeed building a three-seat hypercar which takes cues from the British marque’s magnum opus from two-and-a-bit decades ago, the F1. A ‘Hyper-GT’ as they’ve coined it, it will borrow hybrid propulsion tech from the no-nonsense P1 but will be focused more around road use.
A report emerged some months ago that hinted at McLaren’s hidden plans to resurrect their mid-engine, three-seater layout that came and went with the F1 of the 1990s around a new hypercar that may take inspiration from its iconic forerunner.
The car, as McLaren say, is geared more toward long distance journeys than ultimate lightness and precision. The F1 of yore straddled that line, blending both acceptable comfort with some weight-saving materials and measures that were unheard of at the time for anything with a license plate.
Known internally via its project codename BP23, McLaren Special Operations (MSO) are responsible for its development, with a team spearheaded by Ansar Ali who is formerly of Caterham and co-founder of Zenos Cars.
Being McLaren, there’s a bit to unwrap from that string of characters alone. ‘BP’ signifies that it will be a bespoke product from MSO, the following number ‘2’ denotes that it is the second such project handled fully by MSO, and the final ‘3’ refers to its three seat layout. Now you know.
There is little else revealed about the upcoming car besides that project designation and the actual confirmation. A bird’s eye view sketch does preview the car’s three-seat layout somewhat but is otherwise rather vague without descending to mental origami.
Its dimensions, though, seem to hint at a car that’s shorter than the F1 and closer in proportion to their 650S. Ride and refinement, though, will be a much higher priority than any previous McLaren, especially at this level.
Whether or not McLaren chooses to use the same powertrain package as the P1 is unclear but does seem likely. This means a mid-mounted 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine that, on its own, develops 542kW and 720Nm. Augmented by a 132kW electric motor for ‘torque fill’ that essentially eliminates small lapses in engine response and turbo lag, total power is elevated to 674kW and 980Nm.
Because of the differing nature of both cars, the BP23’s won’t be as highly strung and will be tuned more for easier driving on motorways and at slower urban speed. As such, it will still be immensely powerful, but will stop short of upstaging the P1.
Production will be limited just 106 units, just like F1 was, with deliveries expected to begin in early 2019. The Woking-based automaker says it has pre-sold all examples.
For more on McLaren vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
