Paris Motor Show: McLaren P1 Concept PARIS -- Two years ago, Lotus made a rather large and unexpected splash here by introducing six new models that promised to transform the niche sports-car producer into a global contender. Most of those plans have come to grief, as the company's chief executive was sacked and the company canceled its display at the biennial Paris salon. This year, another British sports-car maker, McLaren Automotive, has been assigned the space in the convention hall vacated by Lotus. The team from Woking, England, is surely hoping its allotted square footage is not cursed for its first visit as a manufacturer to an international motor show. It would not be fair to the P1, a hypercar concept that may be the most breathtaking machine here. The company positioned the midengine P1 as merely a design study, but certainly the vehicle is further along in its development than that appellation would normally indicate. A completely production-ready version, the company promised, would be revealed within the next year. McLaren has simple but lofty goals for the P1: "To be the best driver's car in the world on road and track." Ron Dennis, the company's chief executive, echoed sentiments he expressed last week, when the first images of the P1 were released. "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," Mr. Dennis said, referencing the limited-edition supercar from which the P1 clearly derives inspiration. Our aim is not necessarily to be the fastest in absolute top speed, but to have the quickest overall lap times on a circuit. The P1 certainly evokes the spirit of the F1, which had a claimed top speed of 240 miles an hour. Fewer than 100 were made and delivered to customers, and it has since become a coveted seven-figure collectible. The McLaren P1 should be available for considerably less, but the exact price, like a lot of specifics about this car, remains a mystery. Speaker after speaker at the unveiling rhapsodized about what an engineering marvel the P1 is, and with a second-generation version of the carbon-fiber monocell around which the company's MP4-12C is based, it is certainly that. But anyone who came to hear what kind of engine it would use or much else in the way of specifics were disappointed. "Further details -- including its powertrain and other technical information -- will be announced early in 2013, shortly before sales begin," the company said in a media release.