McLaren Automotive is to build a three-seat supercar, harking directly back to the iconic McLaren F1.
The company’s Special Operations unit is describing the car as the world’s first ‘Hyper GT’ and stating that it will be the ‘most exquisitely crafted and luxurious road-going McLaren to date.’
Development of the car, which has been codenamed BP23 (for Bespoke Project 2 three- seater), is underway and just 106 will be made – the same number as the F1 built between 1992 and 1999.
And despite the project only now being officially announced, the entire production run has already been reserved by buyers.
The BP23 is one of the 15 new models that the brand plans to launch over the next six years under the ambitious ‘Track 22’ business plan, announced by McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
According to Flewitt the BP23’s McLaren F1-style three-seat layout with the central driving position will be housed in a streamlined, shrink-wrapped carbon fibre body of great elegance.
“We are calling BP23 a ‘Hyper-GT’ because it’s a car designed for longer journeys, but with the high levels of performance and driver engagement expected of any McLaren,” Flewitt says.
“A hybrid powertrain will make it one of the most powerful McLarens yet created but the car will also deliver the highest levels of refinement, enabling significant journeys to be undertaken with up to three people aboard,” he adds.
McLaren Special Operations is aiming at delivering the first examples of the car in early 2019 – future owners will work alongside MSO to create their own bespoke cars, being able to select the colour, trim and other personalisation options to make the car unique to them.
Very few details of the car, apart from the three-seat cabin and the hybrid powertrain, have been released but it will feature the brand’s signature dihedral doors – for the first time these will be powered, with apertures extending into the roof.
McLaren has also confirmed that the car will be so bespoke that all of the switchgear will be specifically designed and manufactured for it.
It will sit in the brand’s Ultimate Series, which is also expected to gain a fully electric car in the future – the brand having previously revealed it is working on such a car.
McLaren is promising more details of the BP23’s specification closer to the car’s launch date. No price has yet been indicated, industry sources suggesting it will be around £2 million.
A Short History of McLaren – not featuring F1 cars. Click here
