Under the skin of McLaren's $4 million hypercar

01/25/2025 01:45 PM

Tobias Sühlmann finds inspiration everywhere. The freshly-minted Chief Design Officer at British carmaker McLaren needs only to look at his surroundings.

"You breathe in everything you see, what you feel, to whom you talk, and the things that you eat, the city that you’re in – like Tokyo here," says Sühlmann (below) with an expansive wave of his arm, "… is inspiration."

We're in Tokyo for the reveal of McLaren's latest hypercar, the $AU4 million W1. It's just the third car in the brand's short roll call of '1' cars, following on from 1992's iconic McLaren F1 and, more recently 2013's McLaren P1. As McLaren has previously said, "Not just any car can be given the '1' title."

And the W1 is not just "any car".

On paper, the W1 takes up where the McLaren P1 left off, a V8-powered rear-wheel drive plug-in hybrid. But the similarities end there, the W1 so far in advance of what the P1 was – and is – to make comparisons a touch meaningless.

A lot has changed in the 12 years since the P1 broke cover, and the technology and specs found in the W1 only serve to underscore those changes.

How powerful is the McLaren W1?

Very!

Powering the W1 is an all-new flat-plane-crank V8 engine, internal code MPH-8, which on its own produces 683kW and 900Nm.

But, the V8 is paired with what McLaren says is a "motorsport-derived" radial-flux electric motor bolted directly onto the side of the transmission. Fed by a small 1.4kWh battery, the electric motor revs to 24,000rpm and produces 255kW and 440Nm on its own.

Combined, the V8 and the radial-flux motor pump out an astonishing 938kW and 1340Nm, making it easily and far away the most powerful road-going McLaren ever, eclipsing the P1's 674kW/900Nm outputs and dwarfing the positively quaint 461kW and 650Nm of the original McLaren F1.

Sending those enormous outputs to the massive rear wheels is a new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with a quirk – there is no reverse gear. But fear not. You can still drive backwards in the W1, thanks to what McLaren calls "E-reverse".

Simply, selecting reverse will cause the electric motor to spin in the 'reverse' direction, allowing you to back into the garage or parallel park your W1 on Chapel Street or Campbell Parade.

What's the electric-only range of the McLaren W1?

A piddling 2km, is the short answer.

The long answer is that while the W1 can be driven in electric-only mode, its 2km range is really only enough to get you away from your neighbours so they don’t get annoyed at you once that monstrous 4.0-litre twin-turbo unleashes its baritone roar.

I ask McLaren's product manager for the W1, Heather Fitch (above), if any consideration was given to having a bigger battery and more electric-only range.

In a word, 'no', but there's more to it.

While the W1 might be a plug-in hybrid, the electric motor and battery are on hand primarily to provide what Fitch calls "power density".

"For us, it was, in some ways, a simple choice," Fitch tells Drive. "Because we really had to ensure that we had power density at the driver's fingertips, at the driver's foot, and for us, having power density rather than energy density was really important to ensure that we hit the 1275PS (metric horsepower) that we hit, the weight targets that we hit, the overall power output and the overall acceleration and lap time experience.

"So two kilometres was the right number for us," she continues. "We could have had zero, and we could have had a bit more, but we’ve had feedback from our customers that they enjoy the benefits that the two kilometres, that that small amount of range does provide."

Longer range would, of course, require bigger batteries. And bigger batteries equals more weight, something, as Fitch explains, that runs anathema to the W1's philosophy.

"You start to add more batteries, you add weight," Fitch says. "And as you might imagine, we’ve got quite a big V8 1275PS package in the back of that car, packaged around some really intricate aerodynamic devices.

"So it would have been a challenge to package anything more than that. We would have to compromise in other areas of the vehicle. So for us, the battery, the hybrid system, really was the best application for W1."

How fast is the McLaren W1?

That "power density" manifests itself in the W1's boost button, located conveniently on the steering wheel.

Pressing the button unleashes everyone one of the W1's 938kW and 1340Nm for a limited time. How long "depends on your battery's state of charge and the circumstances that you're driving in," explains Fitch. "And essentially, it gives you everything [the W1] has got".

And "everything" means a lot.

Try 0-100km/h in 2.7 seconds, or 0-200km/h in a gobsmacking 5.8 seconds. Feeling brave? The W1 will hit 300km/h from a standing start in "under" 12.7 seconds.

Top speed? An electronically limited 350km/h.

How much downforce does the W1 generate?

A ton. Literally a ton.

McLaren claims the W1 produces up to 1000kg of downforce – 350kg up front and 650kg at the rear – helping to keep the hypercar firmly planted to the road.

The full force of that 1000kg is only activated in Race mode, which not only unleashes the full extent of the powertrain's phenomenal outputs, but also lowers the ride height substantially – 37mm at the front and 17mm out back.

The showpiece is, of course, the rear wing which can be electronically actuated to not only move it up and down – to increase or reduce drag – but can also be shifted up to 300mm rearwards through a 180-degree arc which in Race mode, produces five times more downforce than the W1's Road configuration. It can also work as an F1-style drag-reduction system or serve as air brake.

Up front, an adjustable splitter works two-fold in Race made.  A central section sends air underneath the car where an F1-style underbody channels that air to the rear to improve back-end stability under braking while the side sections of the front wing generate frontal downforce for greater cornering stability.

Every aspect of the W1 has been designed to generate aerodynamic efficiency, including the – in a first for McLaren – anhedral (more commonly known as gullwing) doors. They look impressive, yes, but they are not just for show. Instead, as Sühlmann explains, they perform a vital function in helping to keep the W1 stable on the road.

Why does the McLaren W1 have gullwing doors?

Development of the W1 hypercar was already well-advanced by the time Sühlmann started his second stint at McLaren in September, 2023. As such, his input, as he humbly admits, was minimal.

"You can imagine that a car like this needs time to be developed, so most of it was already there and already done," he tells Drive.

"I had the chance to really fine tune it and to work on the anhedral door system, and I had the chance to really balance the car because, most importantly for McLaren, is the proportion.

"And this was the main thing, that I had the chance to fine tune it, but the main theme [of the W1] was already there."

But one area the German-born designer did have an impact was the W1's anhedral doors. As he explains, they eye-catching gullwing doors do more than just unfold to the heavens like a butterfly stretching its wings. They also needed to serve a function.

"The anhedral doors is very interesting, because we didn’t want to block the air," he says. "The air [flow] normally, like when you have doors and you have [exposed] hinges, so the air can't flow [as efficiently].

"So we, we [integrated] the hinges into the roof to make sure that the air can flow around the cabin, and that's the reason… it’s very new and very interesting system."

In layman's terms, the gullwing doors ensure an uninterrupted flow of air from the front of the car and into the radiators out back to maximise engine cooling. McLaren says the system is so effective that it could reduce the size of the radiators. And smaller radiators mean less weight. And less weight… you get the idea.

About that weight…

The McLaren W1 is no heavyweight, tipping the scales at a mere 1399kg. That's around the same as a small hatchback.

No surprise then that the W1 is liberally adorned by what it calls pre-impregnated carbon-fibre (or pre-preg as it's affectionately called in the hallowed halls of the McLaren Technology Centre), a technology usually only found in its Formula 1 cars.

As McLaren explains, "The carbon-fibre is pre-impregnated with a resin system that simplifies the curing process and pressure treatment is then applied in the mould, which gives the Aerocell higher structural strength.

"This allows for a lighter structure – the Aerocell is pound-for-pound McLaren's lightest monocoque yet – and the high uniformity of finish from the process negates the need for additional bodywork in some areas."

Other weight-saving measures include 3D-printed titanium wishbones, carbon-fibre slimline sun visors, and carbon-fibre integrated seats that form part of the Aerocell monocoque. They're fixed in place, further helping to reduce weight. But if you're worried about finding the ideal driving position, fear not. The pedal box and steering column are adjustable meaning you'll never need to rely on grandma's seat cushions to move closer to the W1's controls.

What's the McLaren W1 like inside?

Sparse. And it's by design.

It feels like a race car inside, all purposeful and unadorned. Yes, there's an infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay, but it's small (8.0-inches) and doesn’t overpower the cabin.

The fixed seats are snug and comfortable while the flat-bottomed, flat-topped steering wheel is deliciously devoid of buttons. Just two switches adorn the steering wheel – one for activating that delicious Boost mode, and the other for fiddling around the W1's aerodynamic capabilities.

Storage? There's a small amount behind the seats, but really, you don’t want your accoutrements hindering the experience in the cockpit.

And it is a cockpit, by design. Sühlmann explains.

"You can see that on a W1 – you can also see that on all of our cars – it’s a wrap around concept, so that the dashboard flies, or is flying into the doors, and then into the seats," he says. "So everything is wrapping just around you… you feel really safe and protected, like in a cockpit, like in a fighter jet, which is amazing.

"And then the other thing is… we want the focus on driving.

"Because, like, the worst thing is… if you see [our] competitors and how many buttons and little buttons, and you don’t even know what it is. And you cannot focus anymore.

"And this is, for me, something in our cars; you can enter, and you immediately feel like a good driver, because it’s like, 'okay, there’s a steering wheel, okay, there’s this, there’s this, okay, let’s go'."

Where can I buy a McLaren W1?

You can't.

McLaren is building just 400 W1s, 399 of which will be sold. Or rather, have been sold.

The entire production run has already been snapped up, including, according to one McLaren source "several" for Australia.

The lone remaining W1 will be retained by McLaren.

The post Under the skin of McLaren's $4 million hypercar appeared first on Drive.