New McLaren W1 review: F1, P1 and now this landmark hypercar

Verdict

Following the F1 and P1 is a bit like applying to be the third member of the Beatles after John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It’s a tough gig. But the McLaren W1 is a fabulous and surprisingly easy car to drive. A mixture of old and new-school, it is sensationally fast, yet is also tactile at low speeds. If you’re lucky enough to be one of the 399 new owners spending £2million on your next hypercar, then you have a hit on your hands. 

The new McLaren W1 is the most powerful and quickest road car the Woking-based company has ever produced. That’s quite a statement given McLaren’s back catalogue. 

Like its direct predecessor, the P1, this new model is a hybrid hypercar with all the power going to the rear wheels alone. Total outputs are frankly enormous at 1,257bhp and 1,340Nm of torque. For comparison, the P1 produced 903bhp and 900Nm – and both cars weigh almost exactly the same, tipping the scales at just under 1,400kg dry.

Positioned in the middle of the car is a 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 and although that might sound like a familiar McLaren engine, it is in fact all-new. It is 13kg lighter and 40mm shorter than the previous V8 (that can still be found in the 750S), and as well as bigger turbos it has both direct and port-injection to allow it to rev higher. On its own the V8 produces a monumental 915bhp and 900Nm of torque – considerably more than most ‘ordinary’ supercars. 

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However, Behind the engine is an eight-speed, dual-clutch gearbox and alongside that is the radial flux e-motor. Powered by a 1.4kWh battery, this electric motor adds another 342bhp and 440Nm into the mix. Although the W1 is capable of running as an EV, and indeed relies on it for reversing, the range is a meagre 1.6 miles because of the small size of the battery. It’s just enough to get you away from the house in the morning without waking everyone up – but not much more.

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However, zero emissions motoring is not what this specific hybrid is about. It’s about going incredibly quickly, and the W1 has definitely got that covered. The official acceleration figures begin with 0-62mph in 2.7 seconds, which is quick but not exceptional these days and speaks to the fact that all the power is reaching the tarmac solely through the 335-section rear tyres. Indeed, many of the W1’s rivals – like the Ferrari F80 and Aston Martin Valhalla – get better traction by using all four wheels. 

However, the 0-124mph time of 5.8 seconds and 0-186mph (300km/h) time of under 12.7 seconds are both phenomenal and put it on a par with the extreme Aston Martin Valkyrie – and on the track the W1 certainly lives up to its billing, shrinking straights in a way that would probably impress McLaren’s F1 drivers. 

But it has the corners covered too because the Race mode drops the ride height and extends the rear wing to increase the downforce from 200kg in its Sport setting to a massive 1,000kg. The active rear wing also acts as an air brake and can drop into a drag reduction mode when necessary. Aerodynamics are often hard to assess in isolation, but it was immediately clear through the high speed sections of the Mugello circuit that the W1 feels incredibly stable, inspiring confidence at high speed. 

The other thing that gives the driver huge reassurance is the braking system. McLaren has always been renowned for its superb brake feel and the W1 is no different, with the set-up remaining purely hydraulic. However, these new carbon discs have an extra layer of ceramic coating on them to increase durability and allow for more aggressive brake pads for extra stopping performance. As an example of just how capable they are, we were hitting over 200mph on track before braking at the 200m-board going into the slow first corner. 

The W1 isn’t only impressive on the track, though; its number plates aren’t just for show. Put the car into Comfort mode and it will happily tackle everyday life. The intervention of the e-motor is reduced to smoothing out gear changes in this least aggressive setting and it’s remarkably quiet at low revs. Around town there is a nose lift for any particularly steep speed bumps, and although the ride is firm it gives you a sense of connection rather than discomfort. You’ve even got Apple CarPlay, colour-adjustable ambient lighting and somewhere for a coffee cup. There’s a couple of cubby holes and 118 litres of luggage space behind the headrests, too.

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Entry and egress are largely helped by the new anhedral doors that hinge from the roof, although those blessed with a long inside leg measurement have to watch their head as they get in. The doors themselves are a work of art and really show how the air must move out of the front wheel races and down the side of the car. 

Once inside you find yourself in a seat that is fixed to the bulkhead, with a pedal box and steering column that move to accommodate the driver. Oh, and if you’re wondering how to start the car, select reverse or put the (small) windows down, look up; the buttons are on the roof. Very jet plane.

The different drive modes are selected by the rocker switches on the instrument binnacle and if you put the car in Sport for both the Handling and Powertrain, you have a hypercar that is incredibly involving and also very characterful on a good bit of road. The steering remains hydraulically power-assisted and as a result you get superb feel and feedback through the new, slightly square, wheel. 

The V8 provides a range of entertainment for your ears with all sorts of turbocharged chuffs and whooshes in the muscular mid-range, and then a really hardcore naturally aspirated sound as you close in on the 9,200rpm limiter. 

The wheelbase is 70mm shorter than in the P1’s and as a result the car feels more agile, particularly through tighter corners. McLarens have always been great for giving the driver a really good view of the road ahead, and the W1 is no exception, with the tops of the front arches clearly visible, making the car easy to place. 

Sometimes hypercars can feel skewed towards one arena or area of expertise, but the overwhelming feeling with the W1 is that it is fantastically well rounded and capable of adapting to a huge range of situations. If you were only going to have one hypercar to do it all, this might just be it. 

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