Mclaren P1 Scores Sub-Seven Minute Lap At The Nürburgring
The hybrid supercar McLaren P1 has achieved a sub-seven minute lap time of the Nürburgring circuit.
From the start, the McLaren P1 has been developed with one clear
goal: to be the best driver’s car on both road and track. Now realized,
McLaren brought the P1 to the legendary Nürburgring to push this
supercar to the limit.
The result: 20.8 kilometers (13 miles) driven at an average speed in
excess of 178 kilometers per hour (110.6 mph). Sounds easy, until you
add in more than 150 corners, 300 meters (984.25 feet) of elevation
changes and cornering forces of up to 2g.
The McLaren P1 did it all in less than seven minutes – an exalted
time – but leaving unanswered whether it can meet a statement made by
McLaren Executive Chairman Ron Dennis.
“[The P1] will be the fastest car in the world. That includes what
has come before and what will come today,” he was previously quoted with
regards to the attempt at breaking seven minutes. “I am confident.”
But the company has not said by how far under seven minutes it has
gone, unlike Porsche did when its 918 Spyder turned numerous sub-seven
laps with a best of 6:57.
In any case, the McLaren P1 is no slouch, and comes equipped with a
total of 903 horsepower. This is generated by a combination from its
3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine producing 727 horsepower and a 176
horsepower electric motor. McLaren said the drivetrain offers instant
torque and throttle response, with performance figures to match – 0-100
km/h (62 mph) in 2.8 seconds, 0-200 km/h (124 mph) in 6.8 seconds and
0-300 km/h (186 mph) in 16.5 seconds.
McLaren explained the combination of optimized aerodynamics,
cutting-edge bespoke systems developed with technical partners and
never-before-used technologies, have ensured the McLaren P1 has
achieved, and in many cases exceeded, all objectives during development.
“This final challenge for the McLaren P1 was very publicly set out
earlier this year, and the result is true testament to the team in
Woking,” said Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer of McLaren
Automotive. “Not only in terms of what has been achieved in Germany, but
in what has been achieved with this project. The McLaren P1 is a
technical tour de force, and is truly a car that we at McLaren are very
proud of. The desire to push the envelope of performance, and achieve
the sub-seven minute lap time, shows the spirit of Bruce McLaren lives
in the company 50 years on.”
The Supernova Silver example of the McLaren P1, codenamed XP2R, was
driven the 390 miles from Woking, England to the Nürburgring ahead of
this final development test phase, underlining the car’s unique
road-to-race ability.
On arrival at the track, ‘Race’ mode extended the active rear wing by
300mm, dropped the ride height by 50mm and saw the RaceActive Chassis
Control suspension system stiffen by 300 percent –giving the pilot a
fully-focused track car at the push of a button.
“The fact that the McLaren P1 has posted a sub-seven-minute lap at
the Nürburgring is unbelievably impressive, said McLaren Formula 1
driver and 2009 world champion Jenson Button. “I’ve been an F1 driver
for 14 years, and I’ve driven more than 240 Grands Prix and, although
I’ve never raced an F1 car on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit,
because the last time the German Grand Prix was held there was before I
was born, I know exactly how challenging, and daunting, a racetrack it
is. Over the past dozen-or-so years I’ve owned a lot of
ultra-high-performance road cars. I’ve driven the McLaren P1 on a number
of occasions – including up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed,
where it was sensational – and I think it’s a truly superb machine:
unbelievably refined yet unbelievably quick. But, as I say, for it to
have recorded a sub-seven minute lap time around the Nürburgring is the
icing on the cake: proof positive, backed by hard data, on the greatest
racetrack of them all, that McLaren has created a genuine game-changer.”