McLaren's hallucinogenic-looking hypercar is an outstanding design achievement
A new McLaren hypercar. The successor to the F1. I can think of few inanimate things that induce sweaty-palmed, pulse acceleration just thinking of the possibilities.
But if I’m honest, when the pictures were released I was a little uncertain. I could see that the P1 was a thing of drama and great, swooping architectural design. But was there something a little ungainly about its aggressive frown and melted wax lines?
Well, being one of the lucky ones that got to stand next to and really take in the sensation of being in the presence the McLaren P1 on its public debut at Paris 2012, I can honestly that I have never been so convinced by a design. Not because it’s beautiful - it isn't. But it honestly has more visual impact than any car I can think of in production. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, mad single-seaters and eccentric one-offs included. There’s always an element of drama brought about by a show stand setting, but honestly seeing the P1 in the metal is like receiving a smack to the face. It has the appearance of a cartoon caricature of a supercar, but in a seriously good way.
My favourite angle is the rear three-quarter, with the extravagant deep-dish wing that lifts on enormous struts and alters its angle depending on speed, finished off by the comically oversized rear diffuser. All of which clearly works given the monumental downforce of 600kg the P1’s aerodynamics creates at real-world performance speeds, rather than the oft-claimed top speed you see on sports cars.
The detail is there too. The real gold around the exhaust and the roof-mounted air intake both hark back to the F1 and add further theatre to an already trippy-looking P1. Frank Stephenson and the whole team responsible for the car should be immensely proud. Because I left the stand not really caring about what powertrain it's getting, or the fact that it will not hold any top speed records. I couldn’t care less. Just knowing that something this hallucinogenic-looking can make production warms the heart. Forget the pictures. When you see it for real, it’s obvious that the McLaren P1 is wholly unforgettable.