Mclaren Senna
FIRST DRIVE Extreme new road-legal sports car rewrites the rulebook
Does brand’s ‘most extreme road car’ deliver?
IN Mclaren’s own words, the Senna is “the most extreme road car” it has ever built. For a company with a back catalogue that includes the legendary F1 and P1 hypercars, that’s some statement – as is naming it after iconic ex-mclaren Formula One driver Ayrton Senna.
Despite the huge wing and aggressive aeros, the Senna is road legal. While the styling will divide opinion, Mclaren says the car looks like it does because form follows function. That form generates 800kg of downforce at 155mph, and the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 mounted in the middle of the carbon-fibre Monocage III chassis produces 789bhp and 800Nm of torque.
The all-carbon-fibre body makes it the lightest Mclaren (1,198kg) since the F1. It does 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds, 124mph in 6.8s and 186mph in 18.8s.
This pace of progress extends to the chassis. There’s Raceactive Chassis Control II (RCC II) with four modes for the hydraulically interconnected suspension: Comfort, Sport, Track and Race. As this is a track car first and foremost, and our driving was limited to Portugal’s Estoril circuit, it’s Race that’s most interesting.
This drops the ride height by 39mm at the front and 30mm at the rear. Here it looks like it’s hugging the road – a direct consequence of the system’s interaction with the car’s aerodynamics.
It boosts what’s known as ‘ground effect’, the phenomenon of air rushing under the car and being accelerated at the rear by the diffuser to help suck the car to the road. All this happens while the body and wings help out by pushing the Senna into the track even harder.
Models with downforce like real race cars often require confidence and faith to tap into the aerodynamic grip. That can sometimes make a car hard to drive and twitchy on the limit, but Mclaren has focused on a linear build-up to make the Senna more accessible.
The RCC II system is always active and adjusts the damping even in Race mode. At low speed it’s softer than the P1 to improve traction, while at high speed it’s stiffer in order to maintain ride height balance, downforce and therefore stability. There’s also tech that reduces dive under braking. As a result, the Senna doesn’t seem highly strung. In fact, the faster you go, the more stable it feels.
The key – and the real delight – is its predictability. That’s helped by the communication from the steering. It’s an electro-hydraulic set-up with just one mode, and the level of detail is beautifully clear. Together with the chassis, this conspires to instil huge confidence, given the Senna’s on-paper spec is nothing short of intimidating.
The motor certainly lives up to that, though. It hurls the car forward aggressively with even a gentle bit of throttle. Traction is strong, although in any of the lower four gears you’ll see the ESC light flash under maximum acceleration.
It’s enhanced by the noise. Mclaren’s flat-crank V8s are not necessarily the most aurally inspiring motors, but the buzzy signature definitely fits the race car vibe. The area that really grabs your attention, though, is the brakes. With parts from the P1 GTR there’s beautiful clarity and they’re so easy to modulate.
“The Senna doesn’t feel highly strung. In fact, the faster you go the more stable it feels”