McLaren P1 2015 Review

Mc Laren.Inc - For most of the day, we've watched McLaren P1 test driver Phil Quaife turn in remarkably consistent lap times around Willow Springs International Raceway. The Californian desert circuit is 2.5 miles of banked bends, bumpy asphalt and broken curbs. There isn't much to hit, but any mistake will result in a bodywork-damaging trip into the rough, sandy scrub at the track's edge.

I love circuits like this. Earlier, in the circuit office, I spied a list of track lap records, which shows that in February 1982 Nigel Mansell posted a lap time of 1 minute, 6.3 seconds, which equates to an average speed of 136 mph. For a few moments I quietly contemplate what level of bravery and commitment it would have taken to lap at that pace in a brutal, stiffly sprung, early '80s Formula 1 car. 2015 McLaren P1

Can the 2015 McLaren P1 Take the Heat? McLaren's test today is not about records. The 903-horsepower P1 is designed to be the world's best driver's car, equally at home on the road or track, so it is natural that an enthusiastic owner might want to engage its full-fat "Race" mode on a circuit.

Back at McLaren's headquarters in the U.K., the development team simulated what might happen to the P1 after a dozen fast laps without a cooling-down period. Today, McLaren is using this test at a hot, sunny track to check that its calculations were correct.

Quaife, instructed to drive at a set pace for data-gathering purposes, has conscientiously done so lap after lap. With the test team satisfied and the track curfew fast approaching, there's just enough time for him to cut loose and exploit more of the P1's prodigious power and 664 pound-feet of torque. 2015 McLaren P1

It's early July and although McLaren's engineers are moving into the final phases of the hybrid supercar's development, few outsiders have been allowed to ride in any of the prototypes. This car, code-named XP7, is one of several preproduction versions being used to validate the reams of simulation data generated during the car's development.

For three weeks the test team has been working from dawn until way past dusk to hone this car. Besides, getting the chance to sit alongside one of McLaren's own testers — professional racer Quaife has been part of the development team for almost two years — is a real treat.

This well-traveled test mule is configured to collect heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) data, so it is a little porkier than the 3,086-pound production car will be, and isn't equipped with the most up-to-date aero kit. Nevertheless, finished in a stealth bomber-spec black paint job and sitting quietly in the pit lane in the California sun, the taut, toned lines of the P1 make it look worth every penny of its $1.15 million price tag. 2015 McLaren P1

A Driving Mode To Suit Every Situation

Helmet on and seatbelts fastened, I survey the cabin, which is close to production spec. Looking beyond the data-gathering paraphernalia, some elements of the P1's interior are recognizable from the 12C, such as the center control interface and the turbine-style air vents, although everything is a lot more pared back.

Before we set off, Quaife points out some of the key controls, such as those for the drag reduction and instant power assist systems, placed within thumb's reach on the steering wheel. There's also a switch to toggle among the driving modes that are key to the P1's ability to fulfill its wide-reaching brief.

"The aim of this car is to be the best-handling sports car in the world, but we also want it to be very usable on road," says Quaife. In Normal mode the assistance is quite high for a car of this type. 2015 McLaren P1

I'm shoved deeper into the bucket seat by a quite remarkable surge of acceleration. With 727 hp on tap from the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 and a supplementary 176 hp from the electric motor, I guess I should have been prepared, but I'm not sure you really can brace yourself for the kind of thrust that propels the car north of 60 mph in 3 seconds. On track, the 2015 McLaren P1 is a steroidal, in-your-face monster. It will also make you revise any preconceived attitudes you may hold toward hybrid cars. For me, the standout sensation is the level of grip. Turn 1 at Willow Springs, Castrol Corner, is a banked 90-degree left-hander. On our first flying lap I'm convinced that Quaife has carried too much speed into turn two and we're going to understeer wide into the scrub. My brain cannot compute that the car will keep on gripping, even with its bespoke Pirelli P Zero tires. 2015 McLaren P1

Out of a tight, uphill left-hander, with the car travelling at a low speed, Quaife stabs the throttle and lets the back end slew pleasingly sideways for a millisecond. Turn 6, Monroe Ridge, is a very quick right-hander over a crest which, from the low-slung vantage point of the P1's seats, is taken blind. Stray off the racing line here and there's a real danger of drifting wide off the circuit on the far side of the crest. But the McLaren is quite simply nailed to the ground.

The final section of the track involves two right-handers that blend together into one gradually tightening curve. It's a long turn, and the P1 feels comparatively docile through here. Quaife is waiting, waiting, waiting... then as soon as the pit straight looms into view, he squeezes the throttle and lets the car run wide out to the curb on the exit.

We zap across the line before the looming Castrol Corner demands heavy braking. The stopping power of the P1's brakes — developed by Akebono and using carbon-ceramic discs infused with ultra-tough silicon-carbide — is phenomenal. 2015 McLaren P1

A Supercar Designed for Less-Than-Super Drivers I've ridden shotgun in World Rally Cars, a Dakar Rally truck and a Le Mans-winning sports car. All felt quick in a brutal way, but competition cars are designed with a single-minded purpose: winning, at all costs. As long as it succeeds, it doesn't matter whether a racecar's engine sounds like a bag of broken wrenches, or if the shut lines aren't millimeter-perfect.

The P1's purpose is different. To be simply fastest around a track is not enough; it must thrill all of its owner's senses and also provide the kind of creature comforts demanded by the well-heeled, no-compromise individuals who have already paid their deposits at the McLaren Technology Centre.

I'm interested to know why Quaife, an experienced campaigner in sports car and GT racing, changes his driving style at times and doesn't engage "maximum attack" mode during these track sessions in the P1 prototype. Driving at different levels of aggression and pace also helps McLaren's test team calibrate the driver assist systems in the hypercar's different driving modes.

"When I'm driving smoothly around a circuit, for example, I don't have any interference from the ESP, but if it is being driven more aggressively and the car starts to move about a little bit more, the ESP needs to catch that slide without the driver knowing," says Quaife. "We want the systems working in the background, keeping the customer on his desired path but not feeling like the car is taking over."

My fleeting laps alongside a man who already knows the P1 inside-out suggest it is a car that's more rewarding to drive the more you push. There's so much to play with — F1-style power and aero boosts, a surfeit of low-end acceleration and reassuring levels of high-speed grip, to name a few — that an owner could grow with the car, gradually exploiting more of its potential as they become comfortable with the immense performance on tap.

The 2015 McLaren P1 is a machine that's made to be driven, and driven hard.