The new yellow and green livery heralds back to the legendary McLaren F1 GTR, chassis #06R that dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans twenty years before, and the car has ten per cent more downforce than the road-going McLaren P1 road car already in production.
The new car has made the transition from a design concept to being in production, and has had limited modifications in between so to make it track ready. It has completed an intense testing programme all around the world since its unveiling in the summer of 2014, and it is within these test sessions where they have produced the modifications to improve its driveability.
The car sits 50mm lower than the road-going P1, with 19-inch wheels being shod with Pirelli slick tyres. The front track is also 80mm wider, with an aggressively profiled front splitter, all of which aids the car’s aerodynamics. The change from glass to carbon fibre panels on the roof and around the engine bay has also helped the car to shed an impressive 50kg in weight.
One of the more noticeable additions to the track-ready P1 GTR is the introduction of a bigger fixed-height rear wing, which sits more than 400mm above the sculptured bodywork, more than 100mm higher than on the road car. This change, as well as the introduction of aerodynamic flaps ahead of the front wheels, helps increase downforce levels by over 10 per cent. The track-ready car also retains the DRS system of the road car, which trims the pitch from 32o to 0o at the push of a button.
Individual driver profiling sessions at the McLaren Technology Centre will preceed an initial test session at Silverstone for drivers within the McLaren P1 Driver Programme, before further on-track activity at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. The profiling sessions will include race seat fittings, a Human Performance Centre assessment, and final discussions around the design and livery of each model with McLaren Automotive Design Director Frank Stephenson.
The development programme for the most powerful and most exclusive McLaren model to-date has been stepped up over the winter months, with the limited edition McLaren P1™ GTR being put through its paces across Europe and the Middle East. Ahead of the start of production later this year, and the start of the bespoke Driver Programme, the track-only model will make its global debut in production form at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show in March.
The production version of the track-only McLaren P1 GTR will debut at the Geneva motor show next month. The limited-edition, 986-hp monster will wear a new yellow-and-green livery at the show, inspired by McLaren F1 GTR chassis No. 06R. The paint job will be available to the first few buyers when the GTR Driver Program begins in Spain later this year.
McLaren says there are only minor changes from the design concept shown six months ago.
Compared to the road-going P1, the GTR is about 3 inches wider and 2 inches lower. It wears 19-inch wheels with slick Pirelli tires. The GTR is so focused on racing that the side windows have been replaced with polycarbonate, the glass roof and engine-bay cover have become carbon fiber and a new spoiler has been installed, about 4 inches higher than on the road car. The entire package is more than 100 pounds lighter than the standard P1.
The new aerodynamics lead to a stated 10 percent increase in downforce -- at 150 mph, more than 1,000 pounds is claimed. That higher rear wing with drag reduction is adjustable from 32 to 0 degrees.
Like the P1, the GTR gets a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 making 789 hp, while an electric motor supplements it with 197 hp. McLaren says the powertrain has been revised for better track performance, with more motorsport-developed parts. Also, parts of the engine that were specific to highway use have been eliminated.
The McLaren Driver Program -- as a buyer, you will become a part of it -- has an initial test session in Silverstone, England, followed by track time at Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. Before any of that, though, buyers will go to the McLaren Tech Center to get a race-seat fitting and a performance assessment, and join in discussions on the design of each model with director Frank Stephenson. Drivers get time in the P1 GTR simulator as well.
Those are the bonuses of basically becoming a McLaren test driver. The drawbacks include the fact that you can’t park this car in your garage, unless it’s on a track, or take it to the store.
The P1 GTR will be joined by the new McLaren 675 LT on the stand on Tuesday, March 3 at the Geneva auto show.
No comments:
Post a Comment