McLaren’s next ultra-limited ‘Ultimate Series’ hypercar is to be called the Speedtail and it will finally be revealed at 1pm on October 26. McLaren revealed the launch date of the limited-run (and sold out) hypercar alongside a teaser image showing the aerodynamically elongated rear section from which the McLaren Speedtail takes its name.
Previously known as the BP23, the new ‘hyper-GT’ has been designed specifically to be the fastest McLaren ever. McLaren says that the Speedtail will eclipse the iconic F1’s top speed of 391kph, making it the marque’s fastest-ever production car and put it among the fastest supercars of all time full stop, but unlike the track-focused McLaren Senna revealed last year (and whose 500-unit run is already sold out), the Speedtail will be more of a grand tourer, matching huge performance with luxury.
The car will use a hybrid powertrain with petrol and electric motors producing a combined 986bhp. As part of that luxury focus, there will be a greater emphasis on bespoke finishes and materials through McLaren’s MSO department, ensuring each of the finished builds are as varied and bespoke as their owners.
![McLaren Speedtail teaser McLaren Speedtail teaser](https://cdn2.evo.co.uk/sites/evo/files/styles/gallery_adv/public/2018/07/25072018_mclaren-bp23-hyper-gt-name-revealed_image.jpg?itok=cQBDJ5GL)
Like the Senna, the Mclaren Speedtail is already sold out – 106 cars were allocated, matching the 106 McLaren F1s originally built, at $2.30 million plus taxes (and options) apiece.
Alongside confirmation of its name, McLaren has also revealed a new sketch, previewing the Speedtail’s sleek, cab-forward silhouette. There have also been two prior sketches revealed, including another exterior view that illustrates the sleek, long-tail styling quite unlike that of McLaren’s current products, as well as two stylised interior views – a driver’s-eye cockpit view and a birds-eye illustration of the three-seat layout.
Development is well underway, but McLaren has yet to finalise some of the details of its no doubt much anticipated top speed run. With the VW Group-owned Ehra-Lessien out of the question – the venue where Andy Wallace achieved 391km/h, or 391kph in the F1 – the company is searching for other possible locations, from test tracks to stretches of closed road.
Finding a driver will be equally challenging, though one likely candidate is Swedish racer Kenny Brack, who serves as one of McLaren’s development drivers and who set a 6:43.2s lap at the Nurburgring Nordschleife in a McLaren P1 LM. With well over a quarter-century of technological improvements, any top-speed run will likely be less fraught than Wallace’s F1 run in 1998 – something he described later as giving him “seriously sweaty palms”.
The three-seat layout and luxury focus of Speedtail will make it heavier than its Ultimate Series stablemate, which weighs in at 1198kg dry, though with an “optimised” engine and a powerful hybrid drivetrain a power output approaching or exceeding 1000bhp is likely to help it punch to that 391kph-plus top speed.
This article originally appeared at evo.co.uk
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