You have to admire McLaren Automotive’s chutzpah. For a business not yet a decade old to risk naming its latest car after Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna requires huge confidence in your product.
The name, bestowed upon the £750,000 supercar seen here - in exclusive Autocar pictures - ahead of its public unveiling at next month’s Geneva motor show, is definitive. If you give your car such a highfalutin name, it jolly well had better live up the hype: you won’t get a second chance. And, well, here it is, all unsubtle sharp edges, wings, vanes and purposeful aggression.
A road-legal track car that “can be driven to the shops”, as vehicle line chief Andy Palmer puts it. The Senna is significant for being the first McLaren Automotive production car (500 examples to be made from the autumn, all sold) to be given a proper, emotive name, as opposed to a combination of letters and numbers. McLaren received the blessing of Viviane Senna, the grand prix ace’s sister, to use the family name. Her son, experienced racer Bruno, is a McLaren ambassador and was involved with testing and development. But why is now the time to deploy a name so heavy with meaning and expectation on a track-focused supercar?
“We have talked in the past with Viviane and Bruno about doing a collaboration, but we never wanted to simply do a ‘Senna’ variant [of an existing model] or to stick the name on something just for the sake of it. It had to be something that felt credible and appropriate,” says chief executive Mike Flewitt. “This car was designed to be phenomenal on track, so it seems like a product that is unique, focused and special enough to reflect Ayrton.” Although it shares attributes with the McLaren 720S, the Senna sits above that car in McLaren’s model hierarchy, taking a place in the most exclusive Ultimate Series stratum inhabited by the P1 hybrid hypercar, by dint of its price, rarity and heady performance. The Senna looks every bit as uncompromising as the icon that it is named in honour of. Would he have approved of the car? If he knew it would offer him an advantage over his on-track rivals, most probably.
McLaren Senna racing intentions confirmed by brand boss
PRACTICALITY
The Senna has sufficient stowage space for two crash helmets, race suits and pairs of boots… and that’s it. The P1 had a similar amount of space under its bonnet, but on the Senna, that area is taken up by a centrally mounted radiator, so the stowage is directly behind the two seats. The car is bereft of creature comforts, although luxuries such as air-con and an audio system are on the options list.
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Exaggerating for the millionth time
Autocar and some of the posters here keep banging on about this less than ten years old crap. Production of the F1 began in 1992, after development started a full thirty years ago, and McLaren have been involved in Formula One, the source of the knowledge and technology for their road cars, since 1963. Just because they started up an offshoot in 2010, which ironically came back under the same umbrella as the racing team last year, doesn't mean that they were beginning from scratch at that point. May as well claim that Vauxhall are doing great for a company that's only three months old following the PSA buyout.
McLaren Trackdays ?
As a very regular track day participant, I really hope McLaren provide their own private days for these cars , because I really don’t fancy being on track with a car that has such a massively large speed differential to myself , potentiallly driven by an testosterone rich “city boy”, who “always wins “, but is too busy at work to develope any track driving skills . There comes a point where ( and I never thought I’d say this ) manufacturers could be regarded as irresponsible for offering cars with such performance where the only customer selection process is money .
Just to add to the argument, I also think it is hideous .
Seen a few 720S models at track days, do McLaren have a problem with the fit of the front bonnet ?
It is beautiful!
Menace Looking , rare and functional. Brilliant stuff from Mclaren for such a young car company.