New McLaren Sabre hypercar arrives early

This is McLaren’s latest hypercar, the Sabre. We weren’t expecting the model to be officially revealed until next year, but initial images and details have appeared online via the firm’s Beverly Hills dealership. 

It’s believed that only 15 examples of the McLaren Sabre will be built by the McLaren Special Operations division - all for the US market. The Sabre comes from the same lineage of models as the Senna and Speedtail, offering maximum exclusivity, high-performance and an eye watering price tag. 

There are no official dimensions yet, but the Sabre does appear to share a similar footprint to that of the Senna, but with completely new bodywork. Although all 15 customer cars will be built to different specifications it’s likely that the wraparound carbon fibre bodywork and swing-up doors will appear on every model. 

Unique design features on the Sabre, that have not appeared on any other McLaren to date, include the huge Le Mans-style dorsal fin that extends down the spine of the car then connects with a rear wing that’s integrated with the carbon fibre bodywork. A strip of LED lights runs vertically down the wing, while an enormous rear diffuser protrudes from the bottom of the car. 

Under the skin, it is believed that the Sabre is powered by McLaren's familiar 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, which in this application develops 812bhp. There is no hybrid assistance and McLaren says the Sabre can hit a top speed of 218mph, making it the fastest two-seater the firm has ever built.

There is no word on other technical details or indeed how much the Sabre costs. However, models built to such individual specifications and in such low numbers often command a price of anywhere between £3-6million.

What do you make of the new McLaren Sabre? Let us know in the comments section below…