WHAT THE P1 MEANS TO ME

It was not the P1’s power I remember most. It was the hybrid’s ability to eliminate turbo lag, the suspension’s ability to triple its spring rate at the press of the button and the body’s ability to generate more downforce than any production road car in history. These are the factors that will most influence the supercars of the future. In fact, they already are. In five years, the Mclaren P1 hybrid has done much more than merely establishing itself as the British hypercar of its age. It has set a design style for the Mclarens that follow and clearly shown that, to exceed today’s performance level, successors will have to adopt even greater levels of electrification. In short, it has taken petrol power to its limit and given us a glimpse of what lies beyond. “Probably a 7min 20sec, or about that,” said the man to my left, shortly before I staggered out of his passenger seat and into the Nordschleife pitlane, unsure whether I was more likely to fall over or throw up. My introduction to the Mclaren P1 was a lap of the ’Ring with test driver Chris Goodwin – and will always be my abiding memory of the car. The P1 reduced me to a staggering, bilious wreck. What a car.