- Mclaren
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Remember that rumor back in July about McLaren and the so-called Hyper GT? You might remember that because it spawned a lot of attention, likely because it was being tipped as a modern interpretation of McLaren’s holiest of holy grails, the F1. Well, give McLaren boss Mike Flewitt an acting award because after numerous denials that such a model was being planned, the British automaker has officially confirmed it. The Hyper GT, or B23, as McLaren prefers to call it, is happening.
Suffice it to say, this is big news because McLaren not only decided to join the growing hypercar wars, but it’s doing so on its own terms, including signing off on the B23 getting one of the most iconic features of the McLaren F1: three seats.
Flewitt himself confirmed in a press release, saying that the B23 will “borrow the three seat layout with the central driving position” that the F1 made famous. The nod to the most famous McLaren of all also comes with a modern twist as the B23 will also receive a “streamlined, shrink-wrapped carbon fiber body” and a hybrid powertrain that would essentially make it one of the fastest and most powerful models McLaren has ever built.
Unfortunately, those are the only technical details worth mentioning because there aren’t that many to share to begin with. McLaren did throw in a teaser photo of the car, which gives us a vague look at the three-seat layout and central driving position. Other than that, details aren’t expected to arrive until close to the car’s launch date, which is expected to happen in 2018, ahead of the delivery of the first models in early 2019.
Don’t even expect to get a hold of one teither because only 106 models will be built, the same number of models McLaren produced of the F1. Worst of all, each and everyone of the 106 models are already accounted for, which is to say, tough luck on the rest of us.
Continue after the jump to read the full story.
2016 is the year of the hypercar projects
There are some years that are so eventful it’s easy to remember them 10 or 20 years from now. 2016 is already on that list of memorable years, in large part because of the industry’s dramatic pivot to electrification and autonomous driving. But 2016 is also shaping up to being a year-to-remember because this is the year when the development of three next-generation hypercars began.
See, McLaren’s not the only one who’s developing a hypercar. Mercedes is building one too and let’s not even forget the Aston Martin AM-RB 001, the fruit of the British automaker’s collaboration with Red Bull Racing.
Details are still scant regarding all three hypercars, but we do at least know that the AM-RB 001 is going to be built with the involvement of some of the most prominent minds in Formula One, most notably design wizard Adrian Newey. Between Newey’s knowledge about aerodynamics, the car’sF1-derived technology, and Aston Martin’s long history in motor sports, the AM-RB 001 is going to be a wonder of automotive engineering. At the very least, it’s priced like one too, commanding in excess of $1.3 million. It’s also limited to anywhere from 99 to 150 units.
Mercedes-AMG is also getting into the hypercar business. Like Aston Martin and McLaren, very little is known about the Mercedes-AMG hypercar. The only thing we know at this point is that the car will be a hybrid and could carry output in the vicinity of 1,000 horsepower. It’s also going to be supremely limited with prices likely to reach seven figures too.
Remember when we were going crazy about the hypercar race between Ferrari, Porsche, and McLaren? That gave birth to the LaFerrari, 918 Spyder, and P1, respectively. Now it looks like McLaren’s coming back for seconds, except that instead of Ferrari and Porsche, it’s going to go up against Mercedes-AMG and the tag team of Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing.
As Michael Buffer so famously says, “let’s get ready to rumble!”
Press Release
McLaren Special Operations (MSO), the department of McLaren Automotive responsible for bespoke customer commissions, has confirmed details of the world’s first ‘Hyper-GT’ which will be the most exquisitely crafted and luxurious road-going McLaren to date. Development of the car, codenamed BP23, standing for Bespoke Project 2 and featuring three seats, will be entrusted to MSO with production limited to 106 units, all of which have already been pre-sold.
On the announcement of the project, McLaren Automotive’s Chief Executive Officer, Mike Flewitt, said: “BP23 will borrow the three seat layout with the central driving position made famous by the iconic McLaren F1, and it will be housed in a streamlined, shrink-wrapped carbon fibre body of great elegance. We are calling BP23 a ‘Hyper-GT’ because it’s a car designed for longer journeys, but with the high levels of performance and driver engagement expected of any McLaren. A hybrid powertrain will make it one of the most powerful McLarens yet created but the car will also deliver the highest levels of refinement, enabling significant journeys to be undertaken with up to three people aboard.”
Design work has begun, with an ambition to deliver the first examples in early 2019. Production is being capped at 106 units which is exactly the same as the number of McLaren F1s produced. Future owners will work alongside MSO to create their own bespoke cars, being able to select colour, trim and other points of personalisation unique to them. Such is the exceptional nature of the project, all of the switchgear will be bespoke and exquisitely crafted for the car. Like the McLaren F1 and all of McLaren Automotive’s road and track cars, the car will feature dihedral doors, but for BP23, the doors will be powered for the first time with apertures extending into the roof.
Further details of the car’s specification will be communicated nearer the launch date.
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