McLaren P1: exclusive on-track review of the world's ultimate hypercar

29 April 2014
Feature

Here it is. The McLaren P1. The most technologically-advanced road car McLaren has ever built. But those expecting a full digital experience will be dispointed. The McLaren P1 is one of the most entertaining and intoxicating road cars currently available.

Steve Sutcliffe puts the P1 to the test on the road and on the Bahrain International circuit to deliver the most in-depth video review yet.

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Comments
23

Frightmare Bob

25 January 2014
Just one thing bothers me about the P1, that hardly any of them will get driven the way the designers intended. An extraordinary machine that most owners will never really appreciate as anything more than an investment and something to boast about.

 

I'm a disillusioned former Citroëniste.

TBC

25 January 2014
Is this not the same for every car in this class? How many people paying the thick end of a million pounds will thrash it around a track?

Overdrive

25 January 2014
As Sutcliffe rightly says, the P1 is a technological tour de force, but why such a dull looking interior? Nearly identical to the 12C's interior, where it already looked devoid of much inspiration, in a car costing over £850k, you would've thought they'd come up with something a bit more interesting, especially considering how much effort and detail work McLaren have put in the rest of the car.

mjeftic

25 January 2014
@Frightmare Bob

On the contrary, that's exactly what the designers intended, an investment and something to boast about, why else charge over €1 mil. for it? It will go very well with the €10 mil. oil paintings, diamond jewelry and whatnot.

I'm not saying such cars should be built, but there's little to get excited about for the average reader of the Autocar site/magazine :)

Norma Smellons

25 January 2014
All that tech so Mr Bean can get to Pinewood quicker, to make more of his bloody awful films.

And Big Ron won't be best pleased when he sees that numberplate...

fadyady

25 January 2014
Thanks Steve. You're a star!

Matthew Langton

25 January 2014
What a phenomenal car…..just the right amount of flair without going over the top like the La Ferrari which looks like a feminine metrosexual super sportscar…….not to mention the femininity of it's name. I don't think the La Ferrari will stay with this being naturally aspirated…..even if it has slightly more horse power. Turbo cars have alway been quicker due to more torque through the rev range over NA engines. This car is also more relevant than the La Ferrari and Porsche 918 due to being turbo charged which is the way F1 and car manufacturers are going. Mclaren must really worry Porsche and Ferrari since the introduction of the 12C and P1. The fact Mclaren are producing a 100K sports car puts even more pressure on the Ferrari and Porsche. The Mclaren F1 and now the P1 are legendary………...

The Special One

26 January 2014
Matthew Langton

"What a phenomenal car…..just the right amount of flair without going over the top like the La Ferrari which looks like a feminine metrosexual super sportscar…….not to mention the femininity of it's name. I don't think the La Ferrari will stay with this being naturally aspirated…..even if it has slightly more horse power. Turbo cars have alway been quicker due to more torque through the rev range over NA engines. This car is also more relevant than the La Ferrari and Porsche 918 due to being turbo charged which is the way F1 and car manufacturers are going. Mclaren must really worry Porsche and Ferrari since the introduction of the 12C and P1. The fact Mclaren are producing a 100K sports car puts even more pressure on the Ferrari and Porsche. The Mclaren F1 and now the P1 are legendary………..."

The P1 has less torque than both the LaFerrari and the 918.

As for your misgiving with the LaFerrari name, that says more about your insecurities than it does about the name. A name is just an arrangement of letters, the meaning attached to it is your projection.

As for the review, it was pretty awful. This is now set up for Chris Harris to do a proper job on it.

Boris911

26 January 2014
Undoubtedly a great car, but why after watching this video am I more convinced than ever that the new GT3 represents a better proposition as a day to day driver, and at a fraction of the cost? Is it because in the real world, and my world, the GT3 is more desirable and attainable, whereas the P1 is not?

AlexanderHM

26 January 2014
How does it drive? Understeer, neutral, oversteer? How do you manage the different modes on the go? What is the difference between the different modes from driver's perspective? How does it feel when you use the IPAS and the DRS and also can you really feel the downforce?

Those are just some of the questions I was expecting answered in the video! We didn't even get to see some massive drifts.

A review - hardly, more like a PR stunt!

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