We definitely did not see this one coming, especially from a company like McLaren, as the British company uncovered their latest, rather odd-looking X-1 Concept at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Created by McLaren Special Operations (MSO) for an anonymous car enthusiast and a McLaren client – who also happens to own a McLaren F1, a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and now a 12C – the concept is heavily based on the MP4-12C.
The client wanted the one-off car to borrow design cues from classic cars – such as the 1971 Citroën SM and a 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K – a Jaeger LeCoultre clock, an Airstream trailer, a Thomas Mann Montblanc pen, a grand piano and an eggplant.
He then held a competition between external designers and McLaren’s own designers, in which Korean-born RCA graduate Hong Yeo’s design was chosen.
The X-1 Concept shares the same mechanical components with the MP4-12C, including the twin-turbocharged M838T V8 engine with 616hp.
