Earlier this month, patent images of a previously-unseen McLaren supercar surfaced online, which led many to believe that the Woking-based boutique supercar maker is working on an all-new electrified Ultimate Series model. Well, it turns out that the rumours were half true – it’s called the McLaren Sabre, and it’s a 15-unit-only bespoke commission series by McLaren Special Operations (MSO), exclusive to the United States.
The McLaren Sabre is powered by the tried-and-true twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine. No hybrid powertrain here, but it does make more power than any other non-hybrid supercars that McLaren has ever made – 812 hp and 800 Nm of torque, which is 23 hp more than the Senna to be exact.
With the 20 extra ponies and the usual weight-saving measures, the McLaren Sabre also boasts a top speed of 351 km/h, making it the fastest two-seater McLaren ever built. Unfortunately, no other performance figures have been provided, but we think it probably wouldn’t stray too far off of the Senna.
The development process of the Sabre is also quite special. As there are only 15 units to be ever made, each of the 15 owners were invited to a development track day at the Thermal Club Private Race Track to provide feedback to the team back in Woking, allowing them to tune the car just to how the owners like it.
In terms of looks, the McLaren Sabre looks like it took on the sleek silhouette of the Speedtail, but added a whole swath of aerodynamic parts taken from both the track-only Senna GTR and the video-game-only Ultimate Vision Grand Turismo.
Fins and strakes are aplenty all around the bodywork, but the most flamboyant element on the exterior is located at the rear, where a central fin extends from the roof of the car all the way backwards to the humongous rear wing, which itself is a work of art. Oh, there are also the giant racecar diffusers too for extra dramatic (and aerodynamic) effect.
Aside from the 15-unit-only production limit, the McLaren Sabre is also strictly US-only, as it features “ideas and innovations that global homologation would not permit”. All 15-units were already sold out before the car was even made public, so there’s no point announcing the price tag too.
GALLERY
