DEMANDING & REWARDING

Fierce acceleration and braking demand excellent fitness when driving this supercar

AUTÓDROMO DO ESTORIL, PORTUGAL

I’ve got a tip for all you billionaires who have already put deposits down on the US$958,966 Senna that McLaren claims is the most extreme, responsive and engaging road car it has ever produced, not to mention lightest and fastest around a racetrack. Get to a gym!

No matter how fit you think you are, you’re going to need to be stronger. That’s because when your driving instructor tells you, as you flash by the 200 brake marker at say 280 kilometres an hour going into Estoril’s tight first corner hairpin, to “stand” on the brakes, you really will need to stand on said brakes.

The reason for all this effort is twofold. For one thing, the Senna’s brakes are carbon ceramic, requiring mucho heat before they start operating correctly. As well, being so track-focused, the brake pedal’s leverage ratio is set to full race-car firm. But the real reason you’ll need that Schwarzenegger-like prod on the brake pedal is that gargantuan — some might say garish — rear wing out back. You see, between that and the incredibly effective, computer-controlled splitters in the front grille, the Senna produces a whopping 800 kilograms of aerodynamic downforce at 255 km/h. For those needing imperial measure to fully comprehend the incredible invisible hand of wind that guides the Senna through corners, that’s a whopping 1,763.7 pounds. The Senna, according to public relations chief Paul Chadderton, weighs only 1,198 kilograms. That means that, at speed, the already super-sticky Pirelli PZero Trofeo Rs have the traction of 1,998 kg forcing their grippy rubber into tarmac but only have to actually stop 1,198 kg. Hence the reason I was humping on the left pedal like I was trying to set a record in the seated leg press.

Just like a proper Formula One car, the thing that really sets the Senna apart from its contemporaries — we had McLaren’s own extremely competent, but still road-oriented 720S along for comparison — is its braking. So, the first time you do roar down Estoril’s long front straight at 280 km/ h, you’ll hammer on the brakes and that huge rear wing will tilt forward its maximum 35 degrees, the big six-pot front calipers latch onto those huge, 390-millimetre carbon ceramic discs. And then at about 50 metres out — an eternity on a racetrack — you realize you’re going so slow that a Camry could clip the apex. If not quite the proverbial brick wall, the Senna’s aero package and ceramic brakes are the next best thing.

That 800 kg of downforce sucks the Senna into the pavement with such force that you’d swear those sticky Trofeo Rs are going to rip the tarmac right out.

According to Andy Palmer, McLaren’s vehicle line director for the Ultimate Series (i.e., the Senna and the stupidly fast P1), this means the Senna is capable of “over 2.0 gs” in high-speed corners, more than enough, to challenge the core muscles I’m advising you to beef up. Yes, like all track cars, the Senna gets some one-piece (carbon fibre, natch) form-fitting seats, but despite the tight squeeze, you’re still getting flung around. Even the (electro-hydraulic) steering, the quickest McLaren has applied to a road-legal car, is a challenge because everything is happening so quickly. Yes, as McLaren points out, the Senna is road legal, but its primary purpose, despite all the poseurs who will almost assuredly use it otherwise, is as a track weapon.

You’ll notice I have not mentioned the engine. Like the basic frame, the Senna’s twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 is based on the 720 S’s powertrain, albeit with tweaks to boost the entire affair some 80 horses to 789 brake horsepower. That, says McLaren, will scoot the Senna to 100 km/h in just 2.8 seconds (same as the hybridized P1) and to 200 in but 6.8 s (ditto). After that, it’s a little slower than the P1, which means it’s just a tad behind the (reputedly) fastest car on the planet. It’s impressive stuff.

It also makes big noise. This internal combustion symphony is aided by McLaren’s decision to ditch all the internal sound-deadening material — you didn’t think getting a car this powerful down to 1,198 kg with street-legal headlights would be easy, did you?

The Senna lives up to McLaren’s billing. It is extreme (one is always surprised at how truly violent driving a true race car is). It is responsive (789 hp pretty much guarantees that). As for being the quickest McLaren around a racetrack, I’ll have to take their word for it.

As singularly focused as the Senna is, McLaren is already working on a GTR version, complete with 825 hp, slick tires and Lord knows what other go-faster goodies. Thank God, that version won’t be street legal.