This week, as a holiday surprise for the car-lover, McLaren rolled out a new F1-inspired supercar, the Senna.
An ultra-lightweight street-legal speedster that’ll make your wallet feel like it’s made nearly entirely from carbon fiber, too, the million-dollar sports is—according to McLaren—the company’s most acutely realized road-going statement to date. And, it should be. The model is named after Ayrton Senna, a member of the McLaren team until 1993.
Again, lightweight is the rule of the day, so the Senna’s curb weight and 790 horsepower engine make for a potent pairing. A great deal of carbon fiber—all body panels are fabricated from the ultra-lightweight, ultra-stiff, and durable material—keeps the Senna’s weight down to a trim 2,641 pounds. The car’s active aerodynamic design uses a huge rear wing, a double diffuser, a very large front splitter, and a roof scoop. An inconcel and titanium exhaust aid in weight relief.
The engine is a new design from the company, a 4L bi-turbo V8 called the M840TR; the ‘R’ in the name might stand for ‘racing,’ ‘renegade,’ or both, but in any case the engine is the latest evolution of the M840T, which powers the 720S. True to its competitive-racing inspiration, the engine is dry-sump lubricated, and features a flat-plane crankshaft design. Like the M840T, it also features dual twin-scroll turbochargers, for negligible lag.
McLaren has certainly blazed its own trail as far as design is concerned, and the Senna ups the ante as far as individuality of vision is concerned. Vision is the right word. The Senna’s body may, at the buyer’s request, contain glass panels in the dihedral doors, which give the whole a uniquely transparent appearance.
The cockpit strikes a nice balance between racing utilitarianism and street-legal luxe. Alcantara or leather will abound, and the seats are a comfortable but serious-minded acute bucket design. But all controls are in the center with the touchscreen, except the Race Mode switch, which is located, somewhat dramatically, on the roof, all on its own.
Only 500 examples of the Senna will be produced, at a little over $1 million base price.
