A fully camouflaged version of the McLaren P1, which made its debut at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, has been caught testing near Norfolk in England and in the South of France. The pictures show that the British automaker has picked up most of the design for the test mule from the concept car albeit with a few changes to the rear and mirrors, wipers to comply with road regulations.
We had told you before that Mclaren had put aerodynamics as a priority over engine power and has been tinkering with the weight distribution of the P1 to improve stability and handling. The British automaker will also be the first manufacturer to introduce DRS (drag reduction system) via a rather uniquely designed rear wing on the back of the P1. All these technologies put together are expected to produce over 600kg of downforce which is likely to make the final product a hoot to drive in the corners.
The P1 will mostly get a tweaked version of the same 3.8-litre engine from the MP4-12C which is expected to produce around over 700bhp along with an additional boost of around 160bhp from a next generation KERS unit, taking the total output to over 800bhp.
Reports say the spiritual successor to the McLaren F1 is likely to be ready in the next 12 months and a production version will debut at next year’s Geneva Motor Show but without the ‘race-car style’ driver in the middle seat.
Source: GTSPIRIT & CarMagazine UK
