McLaren Senna
Out goes art, in comes science
QUITE SIMPLY the fastest road-legal car the considerable engineering talent at McLaren can achieve, the Senna is a brutal, performance-focused projectile. The entire production run of 500 cars has already sold out, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Ayrton Senna Foundation – hence the shared name with the near-mythical F1 hero who raced for McLaren from 1988 to 1993.
The car’s ruthless form-over-function shape is more compelling in person than in pictures, every millimetre of its layered surfaces shaped for maximum downforce. McLaren claims the Senna can generate 800kg of the stuff at 155mph – 40 per cent more than the McLaren P1 hypercar. The P1 was designed to be a car for both road and track use, and was arguably compromised as a result, so McLaren is effectively replacing it with two cars – the track-ready Senna, and a more road-biased three-seater grand tourer codenamed BP23 and due on sale next year.
Weighing less than 1200kg without fluids, and producing a spookily symmetrical 800 metric horsepower and 800Nm of torque (789bhp and 590lb ft in old money), the Senna will be capable of accelerating from nought to 124mph in an organ-scrambling 6.8sec. But it’s lateral acceleration that this car is really all about. With the latest generation of McLaren’s hydraulic suspension sunk by 50mm in Race mode, and active aero front and rear squashing it into the track, the Senna’s said to be able to corner 30 per cent harder than a P1. Just in case that doesn’t feel fast enough, optional transparent door panels are available to increase the sensation of speed. It’s going to be a hell of a driving experience.
Question is, how much time will Senna owners have to spend working on their neck muscles in the gym to get the best from it?
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