Twenty years ago we were introduced to the fastest supercar of all time, the McLaren F1.  Composed of carbon fiber and devoid of forced induction, the F1 showed the automotive world just how astonishing track figures could be.  When one reads a 0-60 time of 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 240 mph today, eyebrows are raised and accolades are generously attributed.  Now read that these figures are 20 years old and astonishment continues to mount.  See, there have been fast, beautiful, and applaudable exotics for decades, but few so firmly can wear the crown of “Best” like the McLaren F1 has.  So, now that 20 years have passed and the mere 100 examples of the F1 are well out of production, what comes next?  More importantly, with such fast and advanced supercars today, how can McLaren take the “Best” crown back, particularly from the Bugatti Veyron?  Well, they do it by offering a replacement.  Enter the all-new P1 hypercar.

Just recently at the 2012 Paris Motor Show we were introduced to the car that McLaren claims will not only raise the supercar bar, but will “redefine” it.  With the F1 still top-of-mind, these claims are anything but refutable coming from McLaren.  Instead, they are believable and have us enthusiasts begging for more.  And while many specifics are still missing, particularly relating to the drivetrain, we learned of some other key feats.  Since we’re most familiar with the design scheme, let’s take a closer look at its function.  Similar to the F1, the P1 was developed with weight and aerodynamics as a central concern.  The car is just about all carbon fiber with a new MonoCage structure slightly different than the MP4-12C’s MonoCell construction.  McLaren claims that each horsepower will only carry about 3.7 pounds or less (Bugatti Veyron = 4.5lbs per HP).  Now before you start doing math in your head, we know neither weight or power ratings for sure, but over 800 horsepower is estimated to come from McLaren’s twin-turbocharged 3.8 liter V8 matched with a hybrid KERS system.

After looking at the P1’s stunning design, you can notice that it is not only dramatic, but seemingly highly functional.  As noted, aerodynamics is of utmost importance at McLaren and the P1 was taken to extremes in aerodynamics technologies and wind tunnel performance.  We often see a short front end on exotics, but the P1 takes its hypercar label to heart with the smallest frontal area of any supercar on the market.  Move to the rear and you’ll find an equally dramatic rear wing that can extend by up to 300 millimeters on a race track and 120 millimeters on the road. In addition, the wing can change its pitch by up to 29 degrees utilizing the exact same software as the current McLaren Formula 1 car.  Furthermore, two flaps mounted under the body ahead of the front wheels change angle automatically to boost downforce.  Overall, the coefficient of drag for the P1 is 0.34 and it can create more than 1,320 pounds of downforce before reaching its top speed.

Wrap all of this up in a well-proportioned and distinctively McLaren design scheme and you have what is to be a very worthy successor to the F1 and holder of the “best” crown.  The P1 will likely be on sale in the next 12 months and should look very similar to the “concept” we’ve seen so far; a leaked patent drawing looks nearly identical.  We’ll be sure to provide on the details as they develop toward an official unveiling likely to be in Geneva upon McLaren’s 50^th birthday.