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    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Whoopsy:

    For the initial owners, we get 1st right of refusal on every limited production models, < 500 ones. We also get 1st dips on  regular production cars, but only one from each model range per year. There is no restriction on selling these allocations. 

    But the VIP program only says with the initial owner, for flippers that sells the 918 within 1st 6 months, they benefits ends the day they sell their cars. For owners that keep the car up to 3 years, they gets an extra 3 years from the day they sell. For owners that keep the car more than 3 years they get the full 10 years.

    Not that I'll be buying a 918, but, just out of idle curiosity, do you mean,

    • < 6 mos. = time owning car
    • > 6 mos., < 3 yrs. = 3 extra yrs.
    • >= 3 yrs. = 10 yrs.

     


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Whoopsy:

    For the initial owners, we get 1st right of refusal on every limited production models, < 500 ones. We also get 1st dips on  regular production cars, but only one from each model range per year. There is no restriction on selling these allocations. 

    But the VIP program only says with the initial owner, for flippers that sells the 918 within 1st 6 months, they benefits ends the day they sell their cars. For owners that keep the car up to 3 years, they gets an extra 3 years from the day they sell. For owners that keep the car more than 3 years they get the full 10 years.

    at last, a program to cultivate loyalty :)


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    apias:
    Whoopsy:

    For the initial owners, we get 1st right of refusal on every limited production models, < 500 ones. We also get 1st dips on  regular production cars, but only one from each model range per year. There is no restriction on selling these allocations. 

    But the VIP program only says with the initial owner, for flippers that sells the 918 within 1st 6 months, they benefits ends the day they sell their cars. For owners that keep the car up to 3 years, they gets an extra 3 years from the day they sell. For owners that keep the car more than 3 years they get the full 10 years.

    Not that I'll be buying a 918, but, just out of idle curiosity, do you mean,

    • < 6 mos. = time owning car
    • > 6 mos., < 3 yrs. = 3 extra yrs.
    • >= 3 yrs. = 10 yrs.

     

     

    Yes.

    So if someone owns the car for 4 months, when they sell the car they are no longer VIP.

    If someone owns it for 2 yrs and sell it, they were VIP for 2 years and then after the sale they will remains as a VIP for an extra 3 years.

    If someone owns it for more than 3 years, then the benefits extends to the whole 10 years. 

    The VIP program is not transferable, so 2nd hand owners don't get the special treatment.

     


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    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Whoopsy:
    apias:
    Whoopsy:

    For the initial owners, we get 1st right of refusal on every limited production models, < 500 ones. We also get 1st dips on  regular production cars, but only one from each model range per year. There is no restriction on selling these allocations. 

    But the VIP program only says with the initial owner, for flippers that sells the 918 within 1st 6 months, they benefits ends the day they sell their cars. For owners that keep the car up to 3 years, they gets an extra 3 years from the day they sell. For owners that keep the car more than 3 years they get the full 10 years.

    Not that I'll be buying a 918, but, just out of idle curiosity, do you mean,

    • < 6 mos. = time owning car
    • > 6 mos., < 3 yrs. = 3 extra yrs.
    • >= 3 yrs. = 10 yrs.

     

     

    Yes.

    So if someone owns the car for 4 months, when they sell the car they are no longer VIP.

    If someone owns it for 2 yrs and sell it, they were VIP for 2 years and then after the sale they will remains as a VIP for an extra 3 years.

    If someone owns it for more than 3 years, then the benefits extends to the whole 10 years. 

    The VIP program is not transferable, so 2nd hand owners don't get the special treatment.

     

    Honestly, that's a bit of a joke. There was never ever a Porsche which was hard to get. So what should be the benefit of this new program?


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Good point. Also, I doubt very much that people like Whoopsy care an iota about the incentive program. They will be able to get what they want from their dealer. Having said that, I should note that I am aware of a couple of instances where 918 buyers received early allocations for the 991GT3 and flipped them for a nice profit. Also, if the 960 rumor is true I suspect that car will be in demand and getting priority on one could be very profitable.


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    MKSGR:

    Honestly, that's a bit of a joke. There was never ever a Porsche which was hard to get. So what should be the benefit of this new program?

    This is not about hard to get, this is about being the first. I get it. Smiley

    Take the my 991 Turbo S: The guy at my dealer who got the second car felt a little bit annoyed that he didn't get the first (as previously told). He witnessed me picking up my car (dealer didn't tell me before and I met this guy the day the embargo ended) and was quite sad that he had to wait another 17 days (not really much). The third guy, the manager of some local VIP soccer players, felt the same, he wanted the first but got the third in December.

    Then take the Cayenne Diesel in it's glory: Almost 12 months delivery time. Same goes to the S Diesel for the first months of production or even the Turbo at some point in the past.

    Also look at the current Macan: First model year is sold out.

    It is always an advantage to have VIP status, so this is actually a nice feature for 918 buyers (IF they are into Porsche cars).


    --

    RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Turbo S, Porsche Boxster S (981), BMW X3 35d (2013)


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    RC:
    MKSGR:

    Honestly, that's a bit of a joke. There was never ever a Porsche which was hard to get. So what should be the benefit of this new program?

    This is not about hard to get, this is about being the first. I get it. Smiley

    Take the my 991 Turbo S: The guy at my dealer who got the second car felt a little bit annoyed that he didn't get the first (as previously told). He witnessed me picking up my car (dealer didn't tell me before and I met this guy the day the embargo ended) and was quite sad that he had to wait another 17 days (not really much). The third guy, the manager of some local VIP soccer players, felt the same, he wanted the first but got the third in December.

    Then take the Cayenne Diesel in it's glory: Almost 12 months delivery time. Same goes to the S Diesel for the first months of production or even the Turbo at some point in the past.

    Also look at the current Macan: First model year is sold out.

    It is always an advantage to have VIP status, so this is actually a nice feature for 918 buyers (IF they are into Porsche cars).

    That could be an argument for some buyers Smiley

    Personally, I think the special lease for US buyers (did not check if offered in Europe as well) is a convincing marketing too. If I understood correctly you pay US$ 200k for using the car for 24 months. After the 24 months you can either buy your car at list price minus these 200k or just hand it to the dealer. Thus, you could argue that you can test the car with a fairly limited (or at least: precisely defined) downside risk and then decide to keep the car later. It is well possible that the actual loss in value over the next 24 months will exceed 200k... Of course, over a very long run the picture might change (in particular, if so few 918 are built this will also help the resale value in the longer run) Smiley


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    I would have taken that lease offer too...if they would have offered it in Germany. I doubt I would have kept the car but at least for 24 months, I would have enjoyed an amazing product...once in a lifetime. Very interesting offer indeed.


    --

    RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Turbo S, Porsche Boxster S (981), BMW X3 35d (2013)


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    RC:

    I would have taken that lease offer too...if they would have offered it in Germany. I doubt I would have kept the car but at least for 24 months, I would have enjoyed an amazing product...once in a lifetime. Very interesting offer indeed.

    I also thought this is quite a convincing offer Smiley


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Fun write up from Chris Harris on his P1 drive..

    http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=29402


    --

    2013 BMW 750 xDrive MSport & 2012 x5 - TurboS Cab on Order Mar14. Range Rover V8 on order June14


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    EnglishManInNY:

    Fun write up from Chris Harris on his P1 drive..

    http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=29402

    Wow - nice summary "But we need to end with some choice hyperbole, right? That's the way this stuff works, isn't it? Okay, here goes. The P1 is the bestest, fastest, most exciting car sports/super/hypercar I've driven. Nothing else comes close."

     


    --

    73 Carrera RS 2.7 Carbon Fiber replica (1,890 lbs), 06 EVO9 with track mods. Former: 73 911S, Two 951S's, 996 C2, 993 C2, 98 Ferrari 550


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    What is funny about this super hyper sport cars is there really isn't any place to really use them unless you go to a track. Even then most insurance policies exclude damage related to track work. What the hell do you do with it on a street?

    The other day was following a Veyron for several miles and the poor guy had no where to go. On top of that he was constantly aware of gawkers looking at his car while they were driving. Not a comfortable position to be in.


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    MKSGR:

     

    Personally, I think the special lease for US buyers (did not check if offered in Europe as well) is a convincing marketing too. If I understood correctly you pay US$ 200k for using the car for 24 months. After the 24 months you can either buy your car at list price minus these 200k or just hand it to the dealer. Thus, you could argue that you can test the car with a fairly limited (or at least: precisely defined) downside risk and then decide to keep the car later. It is well possible that the actual loss in value over the next 24 months will exceed 200k... Of course, over a very long run the picture might change (in particular, if so few 918 are built this will also help the resale value in the longer run) Smiley

     

    First time I heard of this lease program


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    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Whoopsy:
    MKSGR:

     

    Personally, I think the special lease for US buyers (did not check if offered in Europe as well) is a convincing marketing too. If I understood correctly you pay US$ 200k for using the car for 24 months. After the 24 months you can either buy your car at list price minus these 200k or just hand it to the dealer. Thus, you could argue that you can test the car with a fairly limited (or at least: precisely defined) downside risk and then decide to keep the car later. It is well possible that the actual loss in value over the next 24 months will exceed 200k... Of course, over a very long run the picture might change (in particular, if so few 918 are built this will also help the resale value in the longer run) Smiley

     

    First time I heard of this lease program

    Not bad, right Smiley


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    This lease program sounds like a great way to avoid taking a bath on "possible"  depreciation.

    Oh - wasn't this thread supposed to be about the F1????  Just saying……..  I know, on this "Porsche" forum, people just can't help it. LOL

    Cheers


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Since no one here seems to have a P1 on order, it's save to hijack P1 threads for Porsche purposes 

     

    As for the last program,

    On the surface it's great for those that initially can't afford one to have a go at the 918.

    But this will actually accelerate the depreciation. Cars coming off lease will have 200k paid for already, so can be sold for a discount. 

     


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    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Whoopsy:

    On the surface it's great for those that initially can't afford one to have a go at the 918.

     

     

    It is also interesting for those who like to try the car and who are afraid that - should they want to resell after 2 years - the market for the car might be bad Smiley It can take ages to resell a used car like the 918 at a reasonable price if demand is low.


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    maybe i missed it but what's the mileage allowed in that lease offer, anyone knows?

     

     


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    2011 CTT, 2013 12C Spider, 2013 A5 cab, 2014 4Runner Trail Edition

     

     


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    P1 in TG

    http://cf.cdn.vid.ly/c0l1m7/mp4.mp4

    Enjoy wink


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    nberry:

    What is funny about this super hyper sport cars is there really isn't any place to really use them unless you go to a track. Even then most insurance policies exclude damage related to track work. What the hell do you do with it on a street?

    The other day was following a Veyron for several miles and the poor guy had no where to go. On top of that he was constantly aware of gawkers looking at his car while they were driving. Not a comfortable position to be in.

    Not really. Most people don't use these cars on the track and I know some of them who specifically drive to Germany for some Autobahn fun or just enjoy them during limited (and very private) driving events in Italy, Austria or Germany. These are not necessarily events like Gumball, so there is no crazy ass driving but of course they want to enjoy their cars, so... Smiley


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    RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Turbo S, Porsche Boxster S (981), BMW X3 35d (2013)


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DresnFqP1tM

    WOW!

    I want one!


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Watching this video I find this car very similar to a heavily modified Subaru Impreza or old VAG engine… Horrifying to be inside, but not necessary really fast and effective in its power delivery to the ground.

    918 on the other side looks razor sharp in every movement, IMO… 


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Too much power for 2 wheels... All the time drifting on corners, so where is the claimed downforce? This car is like can am on 70's or turbo era f1, astonishing 30-40 years ago, but today...


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    sportcars-history.com


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Looks like lots of fun to me!


    --

    73 Carrera RS 2.7 Carbon Fiber replica (1,890 lbs), 06 EVO9 with track mods. Former: 73 911S, Two 951S's, 996 C2, 993 C2, 98 Ferrari 550


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Other than the blowoff valve sound, I swear if I close my eyes and just listen, it sounded exactly like my 12C from the inside.

    But it is a VERY fast car, From playing Forza 5, I am quite familiar with the Yaz Marina circuit, those entry/exit speed on corners and the speed reached at end of straights are quite something.

     


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    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    He was close to 300 km on the straight. More importantly, just like a Formula One car in a matter of a second or two his speed was went from 275 to 100KM. Fantastic!

    But I do agree that often he had too much power for the road and handling of the car.

     


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    If you compare the cornering speed of F1 cars at Yas Marina, this surely is the fastest production car ever produced.


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Whoopsy:

    Other than the blowoff valve sound, I swear if I close my eyes and just listen, it sounded exactly like my 12C from the inside.

    But it is a VERY fast car, From playing Forza 5, I am quite familiar with the Yaz Marina circuit, those entry/exit speed on corners and the speed reached at end of straights are quite something.

     

    Whoopsy, you are on to something. I have raced a few times at Yas as well as had the opportunity to drive a number of very capable street cars on the track. the part they drove on is very much the tight  part with only the back straight past the F1 support pits, where he can really use the power of the car. There he is reaching nearly 300 which is insane. On the twisty part he is "sliding" a bit around but guess this is largely as he is not helped by any downforce nor slicks. 

     


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    Interesting Autocar blog re P1 v 918...

    http://www.autocar.co.uk/blogs/mclaren-p1/mclaren-p1-versus-porsche-918-spyder-which-best


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    2013 BMW 750 xDrive MSport & 2012 x5 - TurboS Cab on Order Mar14. Range Rover V8 on order June14


    Re: McLaren P1 - Official

    The McLaren P1 Test. On Road and Track by CHRIS HARRIS...

    MCLAREN P1: DRIVEN
     
    Chris has driven the McLaren P1; explaining it is not the work of a moment...
     
    (11 February 2014)
     
    This is a story about driving the McLaren P1, not a technical summary. There's a link to the full McLaren press pack at the bottom of the page. I'd urge you to read it if you want to fully understand the P1.
     
    The driving programme for this P1 event was quite simple - a McLaren driver training expert would sit next to us and give us exactly the same demonstration of the P1's different chassis and powertrain modes as he would a paying customer. Mine was called Duncan Tappy. He's a very accomplished racing driver.
     
    C'mon in, make yourself comfortable...
     
    As we belted up and we rolled out onto Yas Marina's southern loop I asked what the hell it was like driving a car with over 900hp. "You'll be impressed", was his calm response.
     
    Impressed is one adjective I'd use to describe the first time you push the P1's right pedal two thirds of the way through its travel on cold tyres and, thank god, with the traction control fully activated. Others would be, in no particular order, alarmed, stupefied, elated and, perhaps most pertinently, bamboozled.
     
    Head scratcher
     
    Bamboozled, because the P1 is just so fast. I'd love to construct a clever simile to vaguely categorise or contextualise how it feels, but the gut reaction is that of a choice Saxon adverb followed by the word 'fast'.
     
    The tyres are cold, the thrust is all-consuming and I feel tense and apprehensive in a way I haven't for years.
     
    Cool Chris meets over-excited Chris
     
    I have a very simple set of procedures for this part of my professional life. The bit where I'm handed something fast and expensive and expected to understand it in not many laps. I digest the basic specification of the car and use that information to predict a car's behavior. That determines how I'll go about finding its limits and, perhaps most importantly when you're shooting a video that requires some level of idiocy, determine what the hell the car will do when provoked.
     
    No bull: according to my method of categorisation, the P1 carries potentially the biggest warning sticker of any modern hypercar. It is heavily, make that brutally, turbocharged for potentially treacherous power delivery. It carries a concentrated bevvy of batteries within its wheelbase, not to mention an internal combustion engine, to create the type of polar moment that is as likely to induce soiling of underpants when it lets go, as it is extreme agile before that point. It is only two-wheel drive and, as is the McLaren way, it uses a completely open differential.
     
    It all just points to a massive red flag. Take it easy, find your way. Spank it and you'll get a call from Ron.
     
    Big numbers appear here very quickly
     
    Ron calling
     
    So we trawl half a lap of this short loop - the one that runs underneath that indigo hotel you see on the F1 race - and I try to push quite soon because I know time is limited. Five laps at most. For the first lap, we're in normal mode, the suspension in its softest setting which roughly equates to a ride comfort and level of support you'd have in a 12C in its Sport mode. Well, that's what the press pack says.
     
    The car is agile and seems lighter than its claimed 1,450kg. The steering is appreciably faster than a 12C's at 2.2 turns and it gives a much better sense of connection to the front axle. The scuttle is low, the view forward truly panoramic and the tops of the front wings act as perfect references for positioning the car - that visible peak sits precisely above the centre of the front wheel.
     
    The car feels taut and flat, the tyres take a lap to warm a little, by which time we're barrelling down the main straight, hitting 150mph in no time and I'm already whooping the whoop of a man who has never before experienced this kind of performance. Or been so hexed by a braking point. Given claimed acceleration of 0-186mph in 16.5 seconds it should come as no surprise to hear you arrive at places a lot sooner, and carrying a whole lot more speed, than you ever thought possible.
     
    Also seen out on the street, in Abu Dhabi anyway
     
    The braking zone into turn one has a patch that's been resurfaced. I pin the brakes from 160mph over that surface, the rear axle wriggles and I completely fail to hit the apex. Duncan squirms a little. A GT3 would have been doing less than 140mph at the same point. The P1 is fast enough to require cerebral recalibration, and five laps ain't enough time to complete the process.
     
    F-f-f-fast
     
    Just one squirt from 30mph to 150mph confirms that the P1 creates its own new performance category, one that we all suspect the La Ferrari will soon occupy, but which sadly for Porsche the 918 doesn't have the requisite firepower to qualify.
     
    Next lap, Duncan changes the settings to Sport mode. The chassis stiffens, but the process of comparison between this and the softer setting is muddied by the tyres still building more temperature and beginning to work properly. The car is certainly more agile now, the rear wing has raised itself 120mm and through the two fast turns on the back of the circuit I can lean on the tyres, albeit slightly struggling to hold a balanced throttle in fourth gear at 115mph.
     
    Torque-fill. Get used to that phrase because it is Woking-speak for the amalgamation of electric and combustion power. If the 918 dispelled many concerns we had of Eddisson's invention contaminating that of Herr Otto's, then the P1 shifts the discussion to that of raw celebration.
     
    Here is electricity that allows the fitment of larger, slower-spooling turbochargers that run at 2.4 bar and push this 3.8-litre V8 to 737hp. Here is electricity that allowed the powertrain engineers to literally plot the engine's torque curve and say 'we can fill a hole there, and there'. Here is electricity that can speed gearchanges and even replace the starter motor. And of course here is electricity that can add 179hp whenever either you or the ECU chooses.
     
    Wing in track mode - now even larger
     
    There is no doubt that the P1 is a much better, more exciting and faster motorcar because it has an electric motor. There, I said it.
     
    Pow, zap
     
    That electric motor is, in essence, the access point to the engine because it brings the kind of throttle response never before seen from a turbocharged engine - the type that allows you to take small stabs of throttle mid-corner in order to trim the chosen line. It serves as an introduction until those big puffers are spinning fast enough to push you forwards the way you haven't been pushed before. This electric motor is the best fluffer you ever met.
     
    The witchcraft lies in the seamlessness of the process. You enter a slow second gear turn at 40mph, you accelerate hard until the front outside tyre calls understeer, then you peel away a few millimetres and the line trims, then you push a little harder to bring the rear axle into play and it obliges and only as you scream down the following straight does it dawn on you that you're driving the P1, and it is responding to your inputs, like a normally aspirated machine. One that exists on a completely new performance level to even a Ferrari F12. But the key point is that the only reason you know it's turbocharged is the rowdy chirps and whooshes from the blowers themselves.
     
    Track mode literally transforms the P1 experience
     
    Duncan now selects a button marked boost. This disables the automatic deployment of the KERS system and transfers it to a button marked iPAS (Instant Power Assist) on the wheel for manual operation. Now we have just 737hp. Children of my generation will have yearned for the moment Michael Knight hit KITT's turbo boost button, and the P1 realises that dream. Push it with your right thumb and the P1's extra kick is yours to control. I can see no reason why you'd not have it delivered automatically other than in the name of theatre, but it's a hell of a party trick.
    I'm just beginning to feel my inputs match the speed and responses of the car when we have to slow down, cool down and head back to the pits - to select race mode.
     
    Race mode
     
    Does a hybrid hypercar need to have a specific mode that requires it to sit stationary, with the engine running, as its hydraulic suspension lowers itself a vast 50mm? In the case of the P1, yes it does. Because lowering it brings that vast front splitter into play, and requires the rear wing to extend 300mm skywards. The car's appearance, already aggressive and semi-porous, changes into something quasi-experimental: The Right Stuff for supercars. For now, it is the only road car of its type to claim 600kg of downforce at 161mph, and the ability to pull an honest 2gs of lateral cornering force.
     
    Sitting lower, the hydraulic springs add roll stiffness by a factor of 3.5, and heave and pitch stiffness by a factor of 1.4.
     
    In Race mode, the P1 is a little bit different.
     
    Fear factor didn't last too long then
     
    I scream out of the pits because I want tyre temperature as soon as possible. Into turn one the car feels immediately flatter, keener to change direction - a little more nervous. A scoop of throttle sends it sideways so I wait for the ESP intervention as it begins to move into opposite lock. It keeps sliding so I add some lock myself. And it keeps sliding, until it gets very big on me and then the big-foreheads from Woking calm the mayhem. In race mode, the P1's ESP allows enough leeway for impressive angles (or rope to hang yourself, depending on your viewpoint).
     
    Through the two fast right handers it's just remarkable. The car has proper aero-grip. Not the type of face-bending stuff you feel with full wings and slicks, but certainly in quantities I've never before experienced with air conditioning. And a Meridian hi-fi.
     
    Scream if ... oh
     
    It's addictive, and the car now feels even more alive, so much like a race car with way too much power for the available traction that you want to push harder and harder. And this uncovers the first dynamic limitation of the P1 - the Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyre that was specially developed for the car, and which carries the highest specific load rating of any product the company has built for a street car. It seems so unfair to cite the tyre as a problem, because the way it handles everything from calm road use to explosive 916hp track acceleration is little short of genius. But after a while you get the feeling that the powertrain could do its thing all day, as could the immense brakes, as could the aero, but the harder you push, the more you feel the tyre move and squirm, and begin to overheat. It's an obvious result of the process, I know, but worth noting all the same.
     
    Off you go then, the circuit is yours...
     
    We run two fast laps, I try to push harder, work those Akebono brakes to their maximum potential, but can't quite get where I want to be. I'm still nervous of letting the car move around too much, still repeating to myself '900hp', and sadly, my time's up.
     
    Lucky break
     
    What follows is fortuitous and no doubt fundamentally altered how I now feel about the P1.
     
    We went off to shoot the circuit for the video. We often do that by running backwards and forwards through turns, sometimes straight, sometimes sideways. As I mentioned earlier, this is the best chance to test the preconceived notions of how a car behaves in the conditional tense, and it's often just me and videographer Neil, so I don't have people watching me. In other words, I can practice.
     
    The stability control is easily deactivated in the P1, unlike the 12C. Now you just aim it at a corner with some run-off, and see what happens when you try and provoke a 900hp, mid-engined, two-wheel drive car. And the moment it first broke traction, I just knew it would be fine - all the messages were there. The mass felt contained, the steering responded perfectly and, crucially, I had so much control over the power delivery that I felt completely confident gathering up the slide.
     
    Flames too, in case you weren't sold yet
     
    For the next hour I grew more confident and, without actually realising as much, ended up completely comfortable with the car's responses - pulling great big slides the way I would in a GT3. And of course this broke down that level of fear and trepidation that had slightly tempered those earlier laps.
     
    So I asked McLaren if I might go again, at the end of the session, 11.30pm, and drive on my own. And then the P1 opened itself up as the most extraordinary road car I've driven. Fast as hell, accurate and razor sharp if you wanted but willing to accommodate small slip angles on the exit of every turn; vast smoky slides if you so wished.
     
    Brief flicker
     
    Video evidence shows that in the middle of some slides the brake lights flicker - clearly indicating that the car is using some rear brake to replicate the effects of a limited slip differential. On every run, the car laid two black lines. Did I even notice the lack of mechanical LSD? No. Do I need to officially apologise to C Goodwin of McLaren for chewing his ear on the subject? Yes, I do.
     
    Only the tyres expose any limitations
     
    I did one lap in race mode, with the traction control on, and just left my right foot buried on the exit of every turn, relying on the electronics to calm the power as I turned the wheel. It was a new experience. Quarter turns of opposite lock, crazy braking points - a blur of the most intense speed imaginable.
     
    And then I just cut loose, tried to drift everything but the fastest turn. And by the end I had the confidence to back it in into turns, get a slide going with momentum, then catch it with the power and ride it through. If you'd told me that was possible two hours earlier, I'd have laughed at you. You might already have read and seen stuff telling you that the P1 is an unhinged monster. Not in the dry it's not. Maybe in the wet it might be but in the dry I honestly think it's easier to control on, and beyond, the limit than a 12C. That in itself it a stunning achievement by McLaren.
     
    And then there's the noise. From inside it's a blend of unexpurgated turbo porn and flat-plane V8, from the outside it's 12C by a full orchestra. It's angry too. Like the performance itself, the noises are something new; something special.
     
    Chill out zone
     
    Five hours earlier, I'd been rolling outside Abu Dhabi, breezing along at 70mph in full electric mode. The suspension was in comfort mode, the view out and backwards was good, the level of intimidation was as small as the exterior dimensions. The intake and turbocharger noise were invigorating and of course the effect on other people was dramatic. Even in the land of supercars, they stopped and stared. It is easy to dismiss as glib McLaren's claim of being able to drive the P1 to a circuit, destroy everything south of a Porsche 956, and then saunter home again. But that's what it can do.
     
    You want a pic to sum up the words? Here...
     
    Its ground-clearance was so good I didn't even need to use the front-lifter, the gearbox was smooth in auto-mode, the turning circle wasn't too bad. I didn't get to drive it on a good rural road, but having experienced the 916hp on a track, I think I might not be too bothered about trying too hard. I'd enjoy the special sensations it offers even when you're not giving yourself neck-pain.
     
    The level of development is stunning. This is especially noticeable at low speed. Those brakes are the most powerful I've experienced on a road car, but the pedal movement is so progressive at low speeds, as is the throttle. It's an easy, enjoyable car to drive slowly.
     
    There's a full video on the car coming later. I'm now sitting back at home, still wired from the experience of driving the P1; privileged to have had the chance; a little sad because I might never drive one again.
     
    But we need to end with some choice hyperbole, right? That's the way this stuff works, isn't it? Okay, here goes. The P1 is the bestest, fastest, most exciting car sports/super/hypercar I've driven. Nothing else comes close. 
     
    MCLAREN P1
     
    Engine: 3,799cc twin-turbo V8 with integrated electric motor
    Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
    Power (hp): 916 (Engine 737@7,300rpm plus 179 from electric motor)
    Torque (lb ft): 664 (Engine 531@4,000rpm plus 192 from electric motor)
    0-62mph: 2.8 seconds
    Top speed: 217mph
    Weight: 1,450kg (kerb)
    MPG: 34 (NEDC combined)
    CO2: 194g/km
    Price: £866,000 (sold out)
     
    See the full press pack here.
     

    "Chris Harris drives the new $1.2 million McLaren P1 at the Yas Marina Grand Prix circuit in Abu Dhabi UAE. Before taking to the track at night, Chris Harris chats with Chris Goodwin, the Chief Test Driver for McLaren Automotive to discuss the technology of McLaren's latest offering, perhaps the definition of the modern day hypercar. Fair warning, the McLaren Chris Harris drives in this video is the XP7, the pre-production prototype for P1. The car has had a long life over the past 15 months, driving around the world and clocking over 40,000 hard miles."

    McLaren P1 Test. On Road and Track by CHRIS HARRIS -- PistonHeads Article

    McLaren P1 Test. On Road and Track by CHRIS HARRIS -- DRIVE Video Link

    Thanks and all due credit and respect to Chris Harris and Neil Carey on the camera! Smiley

    Smiley SmileySmiley


     
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