On Friday, McLaren unveiled a car billed as the spiritual successor to the legendary F1: the Speedtail. It's a streamlined hypercar with a central driving position and hybrid powertrain, and just 106 will be built, the number matching the original number of F1s sold. With an available 1,035 horsepower, McLaren is yet to reveal details on the powertrain but it is expected to combine a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 with an electric motor or two. Development is ongoing so McLaren is holding back on many details but the company is confident the Speedtail will reach 186 mph in just 12.8 seconds and top out at 250 mph. The price is set at 1.75 million British pounds (approximately $2.24 million), though there will be a high level of personalization available. McLaren on Friday unveiled a car billed as the spiritual successor to the legendary F1: the Speedtail. It's a streamlined hypercar with a central driving position and hybrid powertrain, and just 106 will be built, the number matching the original number of F1s sold. Unlike rival hypercars, like the upcoming Aston Martin Valkyrie and Mercedes-AMG One, the Speedtail isn't designed for carving up racetracks, although with an available 1,035 horsepower it will still put in blistering lap times. Rather, McLaren said the Speedtail has been designed as the ultimate road car, a “hyper GT” as the automaker words it, which was actually the philosophy behind the F1. McLaren only developed racing versions of the F1 after owners starting requesting it. The design is sure to prove controversial, although fans of form following function will be having a field day. McLaren said that by rethinking every aspect of the exterior design and reducing weight while maximizing aerodynamic drag efficiency, the Speedtail has been made the fastest McLaren road car to date. The car is huge, though, measuring 202.8 inches in length, or about as long as a full-size sedan. And you'll notice there aren't any side mirrors. The Speedtail uses rear-facing cameras instead, a design that unfortunately means the car isn't street legal in the United States. McLaren told Motor Authority that a third of Speedtail build slots have been bought by buyers in the U.S., but they'll have to import the car via “Show or Display” rules if they want to drive it on local roads. Oh, and those wheel caps mounted at the front, described as carbon fiber front-wheel static aero covers, remain fixed in position as the wheels rotate, with their flat surface smoothing airflow around what would otherwise be a turbulent aerodynamic area. Typically, the revolution of a wheel drives air away from the vehicle, but the static wheel covers keep the air attached to the car and guides it rearward along the flanks. The actual wheels are a set of 20-inch forged units front and 21-inch units rear, all wrapped in bespoke Pirelli P Zero tires. At the core of the Speedtail is a carbon fiber monocoque structure, with carbon fiber also used for the body. The suspension is mostly aluminum and further weight has been saved by utilizing carbon-ceramic brake rotors instead of steel units. There's still some heft here, with McLaren quoting a weight of 3,153 pounds, due mostly to the hybrid powertrain. McLaren is yet to reveal details on the powertrain but it is expected to combine a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 with an electric motor or two. Inside is the same seating arrangement found in the F1, with the driver's seat in the middle and a passenger seat placed on either side, making the Speedtail a three-seater. Unfortunately, this arrangement also puts the car on the wrong side of regulations here in the U.S. Three digital screens form the dash and two additional screens, one at the base of each of the A-pillars, displays the view of the corresponding rear-facing camera. Owners will also find luggage space within the nose and tail of the car, and a bespoke luggage set is available to every owner, with the carbon fiber, leather and metalwork on the cases matched to the interior specification of their Speedtail. Development is ongoing so McLaren is holding back on many details but the company is confident the Speedtail will reach 186 mph in just 12.8 seconds and top out at 250 mph. Such a speed would make it the first McLaren road car to exceed the F1's 240.1 mph recorded top speed, though this requires the car to enter a Velocity mode which lowers the ride height by 1.4 inches and retracts the rear-facing cameras to make things as streamlined as possible. When viewed from above, the Speedtail resembles a droplet. McLaren will start deliveries of the Speedtail in early 2020 and all build slots have been reserved. The price is set at 1.75 million British pounds (approximately $2.24 million), though there will be a high level of personalization available, right down to the McLaren badge featured on the car, which can be ordered in white gold.<doc-sep>Image : McLaren Leak Via @AutoBant on Twitter The driver sits in the center. Three screens await them in the cockpit. The start procedure involves roof-mounted buttons. Out the front view, everything’s about to go to warp. The 2019 McLaren Speedtail is a McLaren F1 from the future where everything flies in space. Advertisement And, oh yeah, you can get the badges in gold. Well, you, actually can’t, not if you’re reading this and you haven’t already bought one. They’re all sold out. Photo : McLaren Leak via Johnny555 Previously known as the “McLaren BP23,” the Speedtail’s sleek shape, reminescent of the 1988 Oldsmobile Aerotech concept, should help it get up to a claimed 243 mph. No, really, doesn’t it look like the Aerotech? Advertisement The British auto maker is calling this a Hyper-GT car, and has been releasing teasers for this car for nearly a year. As of right now, we know that it will feature three seats arranged with the driver in the center, it has wheel fans on the front wheels (which is awesome), it makes nearly 1000 horsepower, only 106 examples will be made, it’ll cost $2.27 million, and it’ll be the fastest and most luxurious McLaren ever built. The pictures first leaked out when they were posted by @AutoBant on Twitter: Advertisement But so far, only pictures for now, with no concrete details about power and speeds, just anticipated minimums. We’ll update more as we have it.<doc-sep>Credit: McLaren McLaren has unveiled the latest addition to their supercar lineup. The British carmaker's first ever Hyper-GT, the McLaren Speedtail, is coming early in 2020, and it brings with it new technology and innovation the likes of which the automotive world has never seen before. Credit: McLaren When McLaren announces something new, it’s hard not to take notice. When that new car is limited to a run of 106 and carries a price tag of £1.75 million (around $2.24 million) there’s no choice but to pay attention and let the jaw-dropping hypercar’s stats do donuts in your daydreams. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website Credit: McLaren ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website Those stats for the Speedtail are damn impressive, too. With a top end of 250 mph, 0-186 mph in 12.8 seconds and 1035 horses coming from its hybrid powertrain. McLaren has been uncharacteristically mum on details of the Speedtail’s engine but those finer points should be along shortly. Credit: McLaren Engine aside, it’s impossible not to swoon over the Speedtail’s looks. A silver streak of gorgeous curves and dangerous edging, McLaren is pioneering new methods of employing carbon fiber all over the Speedtail, making the famously stiff material flex in entirely new ways to enable the two rear ailerons to curve up when the aerodynamics of the car call for it. In McLaren’s own words, the Speedtail’s body “can quite literally bend.” Credit: McLaren Finishing off the design with a three-seater interior where the driver is centrally located and flanked by recessed passenger seats on either side. A heaping of tech like retractable bullet cameras instead of side-view mirrors and big-screen cockpit controls are perfectly placed throughout the car. An instantly recognizable glass and carbon dome roof give the Speedtail a unique style while maintaining elements of McLaren’s signature looks. Credit: McLaren Coming in at 17 feet long (!) the teardop bodystyle and impressive performance stats will make any McLaren fan or speed freak want to keep track of the progress of the Speedtail as more details should be forthcoming in the next few months.<doc-sep>
Review: The Ghost is more modest and simple, but it's still a Rolls-Royce The McLaren Artura is an electric hybrid with the speed of a supercar These tiny cars are cute and easy to park. Will anyone want them? The British sports car company McLaren has revealed a new 1,035 horsepower three-seat hybrid supercar with a price tag of $2.25 million, or £1.75 million. Only 106 of these cars will be made, and all of them have already been sold. About a third of them are expected to go to buyers in the United States despite the fact that, technically, the Speedtail isn’t legal to drive on public streets here. But there is a way around that. The Speedtail has three seats arranged in a triangle. The driver sits front and center with a passenger behind each shoulder. The same seating arrangement was used in McLaren’s most famous supercar, called the F1, in the 1990s. Courtesy McLaren The Mclaren Speedtail is optimized for aerodynamics. That center driving position violates US safety rules, a McLaren spokesman said. So do the pop-out video cameras that replace the car’s side mirrors. Americans who have bought the car can apply for a special “show or display” exception that’s often given to “technologically significant” cars that don’t meet all the rules here. That same sort of exemption was given to buyers of the original F1 when it was new. Speed and luxury McLaren calls the Speedtail a “hyper-GT car.” GT stands for Grand Touring, an indication the car is designed for luxury and comfort as much as for outright speed. The interior is covered in soft and expensive, but lightweight, Scandinavian leathers. The driver’s seat has a special “directional” finish that makes it easy to slide into but also helps hold the driver in place during hard turns. McLaren The Speedtail has three seats with the driver in the center. Like other McLaren models, the Speedtail is made largely out of carbon fiber, an expensive but strong and light material. Some visible parts of the car are made from a special carbon fiber with a very thin layer of titanium fused to it. This gives the material a shimmering appearance that can have a variety of colors. In other places, extremely thin layers of carbon fiber are laid over one another then shaved away in spots to create a stratified look that resembles rippling water. The McLaren and Speedtail badges on the car are made from 18-carat white gold. Most of the car’s controls, other than those directly related to driving, are operated through a bank of touch screens. There a some buttons, switches and knobs, such as those for starting the car and putting it in drive or reverse. These are mounted above the driver’s head. McLaren Small video cameras replace side mirrors. The front wheels are covered by stationary shields. Moving through the air The Speedtail’s body is nearly 17 feet long, almost as long as a Mercedes-Benz S-class full-sized sedan. That copious length is sculpted to optimize the car’s aerodynamics. Fittingly, the Speedtail is wing-shaped, allowing it to slip easily though the air while causing as little speed-robbing turbulence as possible. The small video cameras that are used in place of side mirrors – video images are displayed on two screens inside the car – largely eliminate the aerodynamic drag mirrors can cause. The front wheels are covered in aerodynamic shields that stay still as the wheels spin. These prevent the wheels from disrupting air flow over the car. A pair of flaps seamlessly connected to the back of the car move up and down automatically providing the right amount of downward force to the rear wheels. McLaren Integrated rear flaps help create downforce when needed. A special “Velocity Mode” allows the car to reach its 250 mile per hour top speed. In this mode, the car drops 1.4 inches, or 35 millimeters, closer to the road and the side cameras retract into the car’s body. McLaren isn’t providing technical details of the Speedtail’s hybrid power system, but the gasoline engine is expected to be similar to the turbocharged V8s used in other McLaren cars. The first Speedtails will be delivered to customers in 2020, McLaren said.