Currently reading: New McLaren Senna GTR shown in production form

Track-only version of hypercar gets 814bhp and makes 1000kg of downforce; all 75 examples have already been sold

McLaren has revealed its track-only Senna GTR hypercar in production form, a year after showing a concept version at the 2018 Geneva motor show.

The Senna GTR is described as the fastest machine to roll out of Woking this side of a Formula 1 car. It's priced at £1.1 million plus local taxes and production is capped at 75 examples, all in left-hand-drive form. All have already been sold, with customer deliveries due to commence in September.

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The standard Senna's 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine is uprated in the GTR to produce 814bhp, up from 789bhp, while torque is unchanged at 590lb ft.

The final bodywork is based around a chassis with a wider front track. Made almost exclusively from carbonfibre, it features wider front wings, a larger front splitter, a bespoke rear diffuser and repositioned active rear wing. The result is a full 1000kg of downforce, up 200kg over the existing Senna. Under braking, the car is also capable of 3g of decelerative force – 20% more than the Senna.

McLaren says the Senna GTR concept will out-accelerate the standard Senna, but it has yet to confirm straight-line performance figures. The regular Senna can charge from 0-62mph in 2.8sec and 0-124mph in 6.8sec.

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With no road regulations or pedestrian safety tests to worry about, McLaren’s aerodynamicists have extracted a further 200kg of potential downforce from the Senna’s body. They’ve gently resculpted its panels, added an enormous front splitter and bolted on a rear diffuser that shames those of Le Mans GTE racers. Add the Senna’s active rear wing and downforce peaks at 1000kg – 400kg more than the P1 GTR's.

To handle these enormous high-speed loads, the Senna GTR uses revised double-wishbone suspension and Pirelli slick tyres. A carbonfibre Monocage III skeleton remains at the car’s core, but the GTR is 10kg lighter than the 1198kg Senna when dry, because it can do away with road-specific kit such as airbags, a handbrake and an exhaust muffler and make use of lightweight materials such as plexiglass.

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The Senna GTR is a more track-focused package than the P1 GTR, and its makers say it can lap McLaren’s test circuit quicker than anything else it has built with a roof. The firm says only its F1 cars can clock a quicker time.

McLaren boss Mike Flewitt says the Senna GTR "was designed from the outset to be an extreme track car, but the 2018 McLaren Senna GTR concept suggested how much further we could go and now, free from the constraints of road car legislation and motorsport competition rules, we have pushed the limits of what is technically possible". 

The GTR is the latest in a lineage that started with the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning F1 GTR, and promises the performance of the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Mercedes Project One for around half the price.

All 500 examples of the regular Senna were also allocated before it was revealed. That model started at £750,000.

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