Ladies and gentlemen meet the McLaren W1. The car that proves once again, if you give the folks at McLaren an excuse to go absolutely bonkers, they’ll take it. What we have here is the successor to two of the greatest supercars of all time—the McLaren F1 and the McLaren P1. And let me tell you, the W1 isn’t just another fast car. It’s 1275 horsepower of pure lunacy wrapped in carbon fibre and sold at a price tag that makes even billionaires wince: £2 million.
But, of course, it’s sold out already.
This isn’t just some car to be driven to the golf club; it’s a car built by people with a Formula 1 obsession, and you feel that obsession with every engineering detail that’s been crammed into it. You’ve got a V8 hybrid powertrain capable of making 928PS from just the petrol engine alone and a further 347PS from an electric motor. Together, that gives the W1 the highest power output of any McLaren ever built, making every other supercar on the market look like your mum’s hatchback.
0-186 MPH in Less Than 13 Seconds? Why Not?
The acceleration numbers on the W1 are so absurd that they almost don’t make sense. The W1 can hit 124 mph (200km/h) in just 5.8 seconds, which means if you’re even thinking about blinking, you’ve already missed it. By the time you’ve processed that speed, it’s already closing in on 186 mph in just under 12.7 seconds. Top speed? 350km/h, which is probably for the best because there are faster cars out there, but they don’t corner like this thing does.
And it corners like an absolute dream because of McLaren’s wizardry with aerodynamics. The W1 is packed with Formula 1-derived ground-effect technology. It transforms from a relatively civilised road car to a full-on track monster when you flick it into Race mode, lowering the ride height and cranking up the downforce to a staggering 1,000kg. You can practically feel the air pinning the car to the road as you whip it around corners at speeds that would leave most cars spinning off into oblivion.
A Wing That Could Fly a Small Plane
Now, when it comes to aerodynamics, McLaren decided a normal rear wing just wouldn’t cut it. So they gave the W1 a Long Tail wing. When the W1 needs it, the wing extends rearwards by 300mm and adjusts in pitch to provide the optimal level of downforce. You’d think it’s something of a fighter jet, not a road-legal car. This car doesn’t just cut through the air; it beats it into submission.
All This Power, and It’s Rear-Wheel Drive?
You’re probably thinking, “Well, surely all this madness means it must have all-wheel drive?” No. McLaren, in their infinite wisdom, said, “Rear-wheel drive or bust.” And somehow, they’ve made it work. The W1 puts all 1275PS to the rear wheels, giving it the raw, unfiltered driving experience that McLaren’s always been famous for. They’ve even thrown in their renowned hydraulic steering and hydraulic brakes, which means this thing doesn’t just stop on a dime; it stops like you’ve hit a brick wall at full speed.
Inside: A Jet Fighter Cockpit… If It Had Two Seats
Inside, you’ll find the most focused cockpit McLaren’s ever built. The seats are fixed directly into the carbon-fibre monocoque, so the pedals and steering wheel come to you. The driving position is so low and so centred that you feel more like you’re strapped into a Formula 1 car than a road car. Everything is designed to wrap around the driver—the dash, the controls, the steering wheel—everything feels tailored specifically to you.
And because McLaren’s special operations team will let you customise every single millimetre of this car, no two W1s will be alike. They’ll even throw in something called “InnoKnit” for your interior, a flexible, super-light material that makes the car feel even more futuristic.
£2 Million? Peanuts for the World’s Fastest Road Car
Is the W1 practical? Absolutely not. Can you fit anything in it apart from a crash helmet? Probably not. Is it going to be the most exhilarating, terrifying, and thrilling experience of your life? Yes, yes, it is.
At £2 million, it’s about as close as most of us will ever get to driving a Formula 1 car on the road. And really, isn’t that what McLaren’s all about? Pushing the limits of what’s possible in the pursuit of pure, unadulterated speed.
The W1 isn’t just another car—it’s McLaren’s ultimate flex. And if you’re lucky enough to own one, well, I’m incredibly jealous.
