McLaren P1 supercar review, test drive

McLaren P1 is claimed by the carmaker to be the most exciting car to drive in the world; we drive it at the Bahrain GP track.

Published on Feb 16, 2014 04:50:00 AM

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The corresponding leaps in performance, cornering grip and dynamic clarity are, shall we say, quite impressive. And they were already pretty mind bending in the first three "ordinary" modes.

With Race selected, the P1 feels completely unhinged in a straight line to be perfectly honest, faster than any other road car I've driven by some margin, including a Bugatti Veyron Supersport.

But it's in the corners and under brakes, and at the corner exits, that the P1 feels even more other-worldly. The grip it generates through fourth gear corners and above is frankly ridiculous for a road car, and the way it stops from high speeds is enough to make you feel slightly unwell if you're not braced for it.

And, best (or worst) of all depending on how brave you're feeling, it will also allow big hits of opposite lock before the ESP or traction control systems intervene. You feel a lot more on your own in the P1 than you do in, say, a Porsche 918 on a track. More than any other characterstic, perhaps, this is what separates their personalities.

Should you buy one? If you can afford it, you can probably guess the answer to that now. But, unfortunately, you can't now because all 375 P1s have already found homes.

So maybe the more relevant question is - should McLaren have built more than 375 examples in order to generate a bit more profit from the project?

Hindsight is a wonderful commodity, and in light of what happened to initial F1 sales, which bombed back in the 1990s, no one is going to blame McLaren for erring on the side caution when it comes to build numbers. Especially not when they have created such an extraordinarily brilliant car.

The P1 deserves all the success it gets. It is, for the time being, the most exciting car to drive in the world.

Steve Sutcliffe