With a four-liter twin-turbocharged V8 producing nearly 800 HP, an aerodynamic body made of carbon fiber and an adjustable rear wing, the all-new McLaren Senna ticks many standard hypercar requirement boxes.
It also adds a new one to the list: glazed windows cut into the doors.
Yeah. Those are windows. They are cut into the doors.
The new Ultimate Series model is named after superstar Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna (of documentary fame) and is designed for the track. It’s also street legal. Crafted following McLaren’s “form-follows-function” design philosophy, the car’s appearance is jagged and aggressive, and the company says it’s impossible to follow a line from the front to the rear without passing through an air intake or vent. As for the door windows, they are supposed to “reinforce the visual connection between driver and track environment.”
The lightest McLaren road car since the F1, the Senna’s power-to-weight ratio is off the charts and, though no speed specs have been confirmed by the marque, Ultimate Series line director Andy Palmer told Top Gear to expect something in the neighborhood of a 2.8 second a 0-60 time and a top speed of at least 230 MPH.
“The brief was quite clear on this car, to make it as fast as we can around a track, but still road legal. It’s our fastest car, comparable to a P1 around a lap,” Palmer said of the rear-wheel-drive model. “We’re constantly looking forward, for new technologies, new materials, less weight, more power. But most of all we want a car to be engaging and put a smile on your face.”
That it did
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