McLaren boss confirms 2024 reveal for P1 successor

MORE than six years after the P1 burst onto the hypercar scene – hot on the heels of the Porsche 918 – McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt has revealed its successor should be with us sometime in 2024.

Speaking to British publication Autocar in the wake of the Geneva motor show’s cancellation, Mr Flewitt confirmed the as-yet-unnamed P1 successor would feature some sort of electrification, although exactly what configuration it takes remains to be seen.

“We haven’t announced the powertrain,” he said.

“Obviously, looking forward, it will be either hybridised or an EV.”

Given the powertrain is shrouded in mystery, so too are the subsequent power figures, although we wouldn’t mind hedging our bets that the new car will easily match or at least come close to the P1’s combined 673kW and 980Nm.

Those figures came courtesy of a hybridised, twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 petrol engine which sent all of its drive to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission.

Despite the monstrous outputs of the P1 and the looming, all-electric Lotus Evija, Mr Flewitt insisted that straight-line, outright performance was not the name of the game for McLaren, let alone its Ultimate Series which was kicked off by the P1.

“We don’t build cars like that: pure 0-200kph or 0-300kph or even top speed,” he said.

“It’s not the car’s purpose, it’s a consequence of the attributes we’ve designed into it.”

After the P1’s arrival in late 2013, the Ultimate Series was expanded with the addition of the Senna in 2018 and the limited-run Speedtail a year later – the upcoming roofless, windowless Elva will also feature as part of the series.

Sitting below the Ultimate Series is the Super Series – comprising of the 720S, 720S Spider and 765LT – and the ‘entry-level’ Sports Series which is rumoured to be due for a makeover this year, headlined by a new hybridised V6.