When a new McLaren name features just one letter with the number ‘1’ on the end, it’s usually a big deal. First came the F1 in 1992, then the hybrid P1 in 2013. Now, 11 years later, the British supercar manufacturer has unveiled the W1: the next in line of its Ultimate Series hypercars.
Since the P1, we have seen the awesome Senna, Elva and Speedtail, but the W1 is expected to move the game on considerably – forming the basis for the next generation of McLaren’s Ultimate Series. The headline figures are led by an all-new hybrid 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 drivetrain pushing out 1257bhp, 1399kg dry weight, a £2million-plus price tag and a claimed (electronically limited) top speed of 217mph.
Waving goodbye to the old Monocell carbon structure, the W1 is the first to use the company’s all-new Aerocell central tub at its core. The most obvious visual clue to this fundamental change is the new ‘Anhedral door’ design. We’d say they almost look like Gullwing doors. Like the P1, it’s design is very much driven by aerodynamics, with what McLaren describe as a ‘high-downforce, low-drag, ground-effect aerodynamics’. It’s hard not to notice the extremely intricate-looking active rear wing. In fact, this is described by the company as the ‘Active Long Tail’, which extends rearwards by up to 300mm – helping to generate the W1’s 1000kg of downforce.
McLaren’s well-established 3.8-litre V8 has gone, with the all-new MHP-8 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 taking its place. On its own, this combustion engine is capable of generating 915bhp. As before, this is a flat plane crank 90-degree V8 engine, with even more emphasis on lightweight components – a lightweight block, cylinder heads and pistons in aluminium – with plasma spray coated cylinder bores to aid with a higher 9200rpm redline. Everything is honed to improve responsiveness as well as outright power, such as the twin-scroll turbochargers optimised to deliver higher peak power and torque while being responsive from just 2500rpm.
Naturally the engine has been optimised to work in conjunction with the new F1-inspired ‘E-module’, which is bolted directly to the eight-speed gearbox, giving up to 342bhp in additional performance. It is fed by a 1.384kWh battery, which is mounted as low as possible within the carbon structure of the car. Although there are emissions benefits with this set-up, it’s designed to improve performance above all-else – although it can run in EV mode for up to 1.6miles.
Performance? As you would expect, it’s the fastest accelerating McLaren road car of all time, which given that the W1 remains rear-wheel-drive is quite an achievement. It’s also said to lap the company’s reference circuit at Nardo three seconds faster than the Senna. Acceleration figures run at a claimed 0-200km/h (0-124mph) in 5.8 seconds and 0-300km/h (0-186mph) in less than 12.7 seconds.
Production of the McLaren W1 is limited to just 399 units, and despite the price tag starting from £2million, all 399 cars have already been allocated.
Marcus Waite, Head of Attributes and Performance, McLaren Automotive and former Formula 1 Race Engineer sums it up: ‘W1 is a supercar that embodies all of the fundamentals of performance, honed through decades of motorsport and supercar innovation. Underpinned by epic power and a light vehicle weight of just 1,399kg – which combine to give a best-in-class ratio of 911PS-per-tonne – W1 not only eclipses all other road-legal McLarens on both acceleration and lap times, it redefines supercar acceleration and performance full-stop. In delivering ground-breaking low drag for straight-line performance and high downforce for awesome cornering ability, especially with the unique new McLaren Race mode engaged, we have elevated the standards for real supercar credentials to an entirely new level’.
