The track-dedicated 1000bhp McLaren P1 GTR will debut at next month’s Geneva Motor Show in limited production form with only minor modifications to the design concept presented six months ago. According to McLaren, the most noticeable change is the livery that the Geneva show car will be sporting.
The design is homage to the yellow and green McLaren F1 GTR, chassis #06R, which has claimed its own place in history as one of the five F1 GTRs that dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans during McLaren’s debut 20 years ago.
The GTR is quite different from the regular P1, sporting an 80mm wider front track compared to the road-going model and with its aggressively profiled front splitter. It also sits 50mm lower to the ground on centre-locking 19-inch motorsport alloy wheels shod with Pirelli slick tyres. The lower bodywork is trimmed with a sleek aerodynamic blade as previewed on the design concept, which cleans the flow of air along the car’s flanks.
The lightweight windscreen from the road car has been retained, while the side windows are now motorsport-specification polycarbonate with a sliding ‘ticket window’ on the driver’s side. The toughened glass panels in the roof have been replaced with carbon fibre panels to give the cabin a more enclosed, cocooned environment, as has the engine bay cover. The weight-saving measures on the P1 GTR combines to strip out 50kg over the road-going model.
The rear of the track-only model is dominated by a fixed-height wing which sits more than 400mm above the rear bodywork – an increase of over 100mm of the adjustable wing on the regular. Working in conjunction with the front-mounted aerodynamic flaps ahead of the front wheels, the rear wing helps to increase downforce levels by more than 10 per cent – meaning up to 660kg at close to 245kmph. Another differentiating feature at the rear is the large lightweight twin exhaust system which saves in excess of 6.5kg over the already light road-going system.
At its heart, the P1 GTR integrates the 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8 petrol engine with an enhanced lightweight electric motor. Combined, this powertrain generates nearly 1,000bhp; 789bhp is produced by the petrol engine, coupled to 197bhp available from the electric motor. The powertrain has been revised with key components replaced with motorsport-developed parts, more suited to the sustained high speed running the cars will be subjected to. In addition to this, McLaren says that the features within the powertrain of the P1 designed specifically for highway use have been removed to reduce weight.
McLaren has announced that the P1 GTR will make its global debut alongside the recently announced 675LT on March 3, 2015 at the Geneva Motor Show.
