2018 McLaren Senna, 789bhp hypercar

McLaren Automotive has finally revealed the long awaited McLaren Senna, the third car to join the McLaren Ultimate Series alongside the P1 and F1. It is set to make its official debut on the 8th of March at the Geneva Motor Show 2018. McLaren will be making 500 units with prices starting at £750,000 (RM4.12 million). However, all 500 build slots have already been sold to customers even before the release of the car.

First lets talk about the design of the car. To quote McLaren, “Unforgiving design in pursuit of absolute performance”. The design language of the Senna is extremely aggressive and has a very in-your-face look. It isn’t exactly a beautiful car with gorgeous lines, which many people have pointed out, but it does follow the “form follows function” principle. Just looking at it, you know it was designed with aerodynamics being their top priority and to create immense amounts of downforce.

With the unveiling of the car, McLaren has also released the car’s technical specifications. Something everyone can agree on is the ludicrous power the car is making. With a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 pumping out 789 bhp and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of torque, this makes it McLaren’s most powerful road car engine ever up to date. With all the power going to the rear wheels, it can go from 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 2.8 seconds, 0-124 mph (200 km/h) in 6.8 seconds, and 0-186 mph (300km/h) in 17.5 seconds. From a standstill position, it can complete a quarter mile in 10.0 seconds. To top it off, its top speed is 211 mph (340 km/h).

Its straight line speed is superb, but on the track is where the real magic happens. Downforce and aerodynamics are key principles to achieving a fast lap time. At 250 km/h (155 mph), the car is producing 800 kg (1764 lbs) of downforce. The rear wing can tilt forward to increase downforce or backward to improve speed in a straight line. When in Race Mode, the car ride height lowers by nearly 2 inches, which leads to a lower center of gravity and better aerodynamics. The roof-mounted ‘snorkel’ intake and the intake plenum atop the twin-turbo engine are constructed in carbon fibre, serving to lower the center of gravity. There are movable flaps inside both of the air intakes at the front bumper that is used to increased aerodynamic grip at the front.

The McLaren Senna weighs just 1,198 kg, making it the lightest vehicle that McLaren has ever built. Main reason being the monocoque, the body and everywhere else that needs lightness, strength and rigidity is made of carbon fibre. With it’s light weight and monstrous power, it makes an incredible power-to-weight ratio of 668 PS-per-tonne (659 bhp). McLaren claims that it is the most direct and responsive car they have ever built, even surpassing the McLaren P1 GTR, creating the purest connection with the driver.