It’s no secret that McLaren is working on its next-generation flagship hypercar. In fact, the P1-replacement has already been confirmed to be in the works since as early as 2019. But we now finally have an official reveal date, October 6, and an official name: the McLaren W1.
McLaren says that the W1 name “celebrates McLaren’s World Championship mindset”, with the launch date itself marking the 50th anniversary of its first Formula 1 Constructors’ World Championship with Emerson Fittipaldi at the wheels of the M23, whom himself also won the World Drivers’ Championship in 1974.
We’re still not sure how the ‘W’ in the name has anything to do with all that, but at least the ‘1’ is a continuation to the legendary lineage that included the McLaren F1 and P1. And if the upcoming W1 is anything close to the previous two, we’re in for a very, very good time.
No info has been disclosed just yet, obviously, but according to then McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt in 2020, the “son of P1” will either be some form of a hybrid, or an EV. The company did say recently that EV supercars aren’t happening anytime soon, though, so the former is probably more likely.
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Recent rumours suggest that the upcoming McLaren W1 will utilise a hybridised V8 powertrain, which will be some 70% lighter than its previous systems. Output figures will without a doubt exceed the P1’s 916 hp, and it’ll also probably incorporate even more technologies used in its Formula 1, Indycar, and Formula E race cars.
When it was launched, the McLaren F1 claimed the title of the fastest production car on the planet. The P1 meanwhile formed the “holy trinity” of hypercars, together with the Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder, thanks to their use of F1 hybrid technology and adjustable aerodynamics. So what will the W1 be remembered for? We won’t need to wait too much longer to find out.
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