Success is not a destination, it's a journey: McLaren P1 can go 0-100kmph in 2.8 seconds!

Tuesday 29 October 2013

McLaren P1 can go 0-100kmph in 2.8 seconds!

McLaren Automotive has finally officially released performance figures for it's halo hypercar, the McLaren P1. The new McLaren is a petrol-hybrid hypercar that features a 3.8-Liter V8 twin-turbo petrol engine and electric motors that help make a total of 916PS and an earth shattering 900PS of torque. Although the spiritual successor to the legendary McLaren F1, the P1 does not have the eccentric 3-seater layout but a more conventional two-seater setup.

The McLaren P1 mates a mid-mounted twin-turbo 3.8-litre V8 engine to an electric motor for a combined total of 903bhp, a healthy 276bhp more than the McLaren F1. And while it’s set to weigh comfortably more, (unconfirmed reports suggest 1400kg, over 20 per cent higher than the F1’s 1137kg), its performance figures embarrass the former fastest car in the world.

As with the McLaren F1, the P1 is rear-wheel drive, mid engined and used a carbon fiber monocoque body and roof structure called a MonoCage. The McLaren P1 costs about £866,000 in the United Kingdom without any optional extras. The price however, is not the impressive figure. The McLaren P1 can do 0-100kmph in 2.8 seconds and can crack 0-200kmph in just 6.8 seconds while 0-300kmph takes only 16.5 seconds. P1's top speed is electronically limited to 350 kmph.

The car is chock full of modes, Launch, Track, Race, Sport, and E among them. They’re all activated, fittingly, once you depress the “Active” button. They variously enable breakneck getaways, adjust suspension height and firmness, tweak powertrain programming and power delivery, and adjust other sundry chassis settings. Stability control can be fully defeated in Track and Race modes.

Like the F1, the P1 also aims to be an immensely satisfying driver’s car. The electro-hydraulically boosted, Alcantara-wrapped steering whirls through just 2.2 turns from lock-to-lock, ensuring immediate response to any input. The brake hardware includes Akebono-supplied carbon-ceramic discs measuring 15.4 inches up front and 15.0 inches out back. McLaren also says it tuned the anchors to work seamlessly and to provide consistent pedal feedback no matter what the hybrid powertrain is up to. The adjustable suspension, which incorporates a lift mode to avoid speed bumps, is a hydro-pneumatic setup that has separate circuits to independently control body roll and squat/dive. Specially crafted Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber is wrapped around lightweight 19-inch front and 20-inch wheels forged from a military-grade aluminum alloy.

The P1's quarter-mile performance is particularly impressive, though, the distance completed in 9.8sec at 152mph while a Bugatti Veyron does in 10.5sec at 140.2mph. Priced at £866,000 – equivalent to a Pagani Huayra while much less than an Aston One-77 or Bugatti Veyron – the new McLaren P1 will be limited to 375 units, all of them set to be left-hand drive. McLaren claims that the entire run is close to being sold out, with just a few units left to sell in Europe.