• Spiritual successor to the legendary McLaren F1
• McLaren aiming for the quickest circuit production vehicle ever
• Set to launch in 2013

The McLaren P1 will not only give the iconic manufacturer a spiritual successor to the awesome McLaren F1, but will take on the might of the Bugatti Veyron, Pagani Huayra and next year’s Ferrari Enzo.

It also marks McLaren’s first ever appearance at an international motor show, signifying the P1’s importance for the Woking based manufacturer, spearheaded by ex-Formula 1 boss, Ron Dennis.

Dennis said: “The McLaren P1 will be the result of 50 years of racing and road car heritage. Twenty years ago we raised the supercar performance bar with the McLaren F1 and our goal with the McLaren P1 is to redefine it once again.”
 

“Our aim is not necessarily to be the fastest in absolute top speed but to be the quickest and most rewarding series production road car on a circuit,” says McLaren MD Antony Sheriff.

“It is the true test of a supercar’s all round ability and a much more important technical statement. Our goal is to make the McLaren P1 the most exciting, most capable, most technologically advanced and most dynamically accomplished supercar ever made.”

The P1 appearing at the Paris Motor Show is classed as a design study, but is expected to change little for production. It has clearly been shaped in the wind tunnel, with the nose and tail dominated by spoilers and air vents honed for maximum downforce and cooling.

Its headlights cleverly incorporate LED daytime running lights in the shape of the McLaren logo, while the sides of the P1 are so heavily scalloped, only the outer skin is painted.

At the rear, LED lights pinstripe the edges of the minimal bodywork, where they meet a gloss black tail dominated by diffusers, cooling ducts and a gigantic trapezoidal exhaust pipe.
Carbon fibre is evident throughout the car, much of which has been kept unpainted as a design feature of the latest McLaren.
 

No details have been confirmed on pricing or power as yet, but we fully expect the P1 to go on sale next year with a six or even seven digit price tag. Rumours also suggest an F1-style KERS hybrid system could be fitted to boost the P1’s power and efficiency.

Stay tuned for more details as the Paris Motor Show opens to the press next week.

By Andy Goodwin, senior web journalist