“You’ll have noticed that we’ve been a bit quiet lately. We’re building up to something exciting. Stay tuned and you’ll be the first to hear all our news, as it breaks. Trust us, it’ll be worth it.”
Those were the words recently posted on McLaren Automotive’s official Facebook page. But what do they really mean? With the 12C Spider and X-1 Concept already out, there’s only one surprise we can currently think of: the successor to the legendary McLaren F1.
McLaren is keeping its cards close to its chest with the P12 (the car’s internal codename), but what we can expect is an uprated version of the M838T engine currently found on the MP4-12C, coupled to a rumored KERS system, with power output close to a massive 1000 horsepower.
The hypercar has been described by some people as “unlike any car out there”, with McLaren’s regional director for Asia Pacific, Ian Gorsuch, only confirming that fact in a recent interview after pointing out: ”This (the P12) is going to be extreme in technology: how it delivers power, how it handles.”
“So P12 because of its use of aerodynamics is a beautiful and understated car with no compromise. In a more normal – if I could say that about the 12C – road car, there are various compromises you have to make: price and benchmarking against the competition. That’s the market the 12C is playing in. With the P12 we don’t care what market we are playing in. This is just extreme.” he added.
McLaren’s high-end sports car will make its first public appearance at the Paris Motor Show at the end of this month; but can we expect a few teaser images prior to the official unveiling? We hope so.