By Mike Torpey on 2013-02-26 - Driving Force news editor and responsible for organising our daily output. He was staff motoring editor of the Liverpool Echo for 20 years.
F1 performance takes
to the road
IT could be described as the Formula One car for the road.
The new McLaren P1 not only looks a stunner but boasts a simply awesome level of punch.
Figures like 0-62mph in under three seconds, an electronically limited top speed of 218mph and a price tag of £866,000 tell only part of the story.
Thanks to a race-inspired Instant Power Assist System the P1 can blast on to 125mph in less than seven seconds and reach 185mph in just 17 seconds - and that's five seconds faster than the legendary McLaren F1 road car.
Following feedback from potential customers, the car's styling is virtually unchanged from the design study shown in Paris last autumn.
In fact just one alteration, the addition of ducts ahead of each of the front wheels to further aid cooling and optimise downforce, has been made.
Power comes via a mid-mounted 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine and a highly effective electric motor, to give a combined output of a whopping 903bhp and a maximum torque figure of 900Nm, ensuring instant throttle response through the rev range.
Emissions of less than 200g/km on the combined cycle are reduced to zero in full electric drive mode, while the Formula 1-derived DRS and IPAS technologies offer an increase in straight-line speed and an instant boost of power.
One surprising feature is that the car can also be driven solely in electric mode and in city driving, with an average speed of 30mph, this could mean up to a 15-mile range.
To maintain exclusivity only 375 will be produced.
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