If you were hoping to see a Veyron-beater, you're going to be disappointed when it comes to the horsepower and top speed figures. But that doesn't mean that the P1 will be a car that you won't desire. The design study you see in the image is what will turn into the P1 supercar, and will be displayed at the Paris Motor Show next week.
There's one aspect that won't disappoint right from the start: the design. Yes, we know that this is just a concept and that it will be watered down by the time it hits production, but right now it looks like the bee's knees, especially that rear end. There's more than a hint of Mazda Nagare mixed with the proportions of the original F1. The wheels are surprisingly staid compared to the rest of the car - we'd like them to get with the times as well.
As far as the power figures go, it won't beat the Veyron, but Ron Dennis has said that it will be the quickest and most rewarding series production road car on a circuit. What that means is that it has the same purity of purpose that the original F1 did - weight saving and distribution being paramount rather than horsepower figures. Dennis was also surprised by the way the Veyron handled, remarking that its "polar moment must be low" (translation "this thing turns quickly, for its weight") so we can reasonably expect the P1 to be the best handler of all the hypercars.
It only remains to be seen if it can replicate the soul of the original F1, unlike the MP4-12C, which even though being the best of the competition on paper and against stopwatch, doesn't manage to tick the unnamed boxes that make one want it irrationally, like supercars should. Here's to hoping.
