McLaren has confirmed that when the Speedtail hypercar arrives, the company's new flagship will boast more than 987 hp thanks to a hybrid powertrain. But don't look for the company to go chasing speed records like the F1 it succeeds.
Company CEO Mike Flewitt confirmed the information to TopGear.com at an event for owners. He said that the new car will use the 4.0L twin-turbo V8 McLaren engine we know and love. While that engine makes a wide range of power outputs, depending on the application, "that architecture has gone from 426bhp in a GT4 to I-can’t-tell-you-what-yet in a Speedtail," said Flewitt.
Flewitt pointed out that the engine has already had a hybrid system fitted, the one that makes a total of 903 hp in the P1. "But it’s more than 1,000PS [987bhp]," he added to the power figure. Adding that "we've got a slightly different hybrid application."
McLaren has already said that the car will have the highest top speed of any car the company has made. That puts it somewhere north of the 391 km/h the F1 was able to achieve, though the company won't be chasing Koenigsegg, Hennessey, or Bugatti for top speed record laurels. "We’re not going for top speed for the sake of top speed," Flewitt said. "I spoke to my friend John Hennessey – he had his Venom F5 engine on a stand [at Monterey’s car week] – and he’s going for 300mph [483 km/h]. I might come out with John and take the opportunity to do a high speed run with our car, but we’re not chasing a top speed for the sake of it."
Instead, the company is looking at "attributes rather than engines." The automaker is more concerned with character and capability over top speed glory. What we still don't know is what the three-seater will look like.
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