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McLaren W1 First Drive: Ferocious Hypercar Transcends the Track

You know things are getting serious when McLaren rolls-out the ‘1’ suffix. The origin story is, of course, the very first road car McLaren ever built, the F1. Designed by visionary Formula 1 aerodynamicist and engineer Gordon Murray, it arrived in 1992 and rendered all other supercars obsolete. The tiny, lightweight F1 embraced carbon-fibre material technology, adopted a radical centre seat driving position with two passengers set back and either side and was powered by a 6.1-litre V12 engine from BMW that might as well have been passed down directly from the Gods. Game-changer? That doesn’t even come close to describing its impact, even if at the time sales didn’t come easy… The P1 was very different. Rather than a unique side project from the Formula 1 team, it was instead a statement piece for McLaren Automotive, a new road car division still in its infancy. It arrived in 2013 and was a wild-eyed showstopper. It traded the long-legged gait and supple suspension of the F1 for a weaponized hybrid system capable of delivering 903bhp and huge blue flames from its drainpipe exhaust. In Race mode, it lowered by 2-inches and its massive concave rear wing extended into the sky. The P1 was all about aerodynamic downforce, crazed acceleration and a snorting, angry soundtrack that mixed venomous twin-turbocharged V8 with the manic whirr of electric motors. Not so much a car as a force of nature. And now there’s this: The W1. It’s a true successor to the P1 with a similar brief and, on the face of it, it evolves rather than radically reinvents McLaren’s vision for the ultimate hypercar. This is not a criticism. How could it be when the result is this dramatic and has such staggering, other-worldly potential? The W1 has 1258bhp delivered to the rear wheels. It’s capable of 0-124 mph in 5.8-seconds, the quarter mile in 9.6-seconds at 167 mph and produces 2205lbs of downforce at 174 mph. The active aerodynamics – particularly a rear wing that extends way out beyond the rear of the car – are pure performance art and deliver massive aerodynamic efficiency. The result, aside from looking extremely cool, is that the W1 is McLaren’s fastest road car around a racetrack. Ever. Their benchmark circuit is the breath-taking Handling Track at the Nardo proving ground in southern Italy, where the W1 beats their previous benchmark, the flyweight McLaren Senna, by three seconds per lap. Or “a lifetime” as they call it in racing. Maybe two lifetimes! Core to the W1’s performance is the new ‘Aerocell’ carbon fibre tub. With integrated seats and a raised footwell to allow for inboard pushrod-operated front suspension – which in turn gives air a clean path to the huge underbody diffuser – it’s light, stiff, space efficient and has been instrumental in McLaren realising a full ground-effect concept. Just like last year’s F1 cars, which were the fastest ever made. There is also an active front wing and the aforementioned complex rear wing dubbed ‘Active Long Tail’. All of which is very admirable. But the ‘anhedral’ or gullwing doors and the fantastically shirnked-wrapped feel to the minimalist, highly-focussed interior are a pretty good side effect. The W1 feels special. Those fixed seats are perhaps a shade more upright than expected, and the driving position is less obviously racecar than, for example, the Aston Martin Valhalla or Ferrari F80. However, once you’ve adjusted the pedals (they move on a slider) and the delicate, slim-rimmed and alcantara-trimmed steering wheel, there’s an overwhelming sense of purpose. The cabin is so tightly tailored and imparts a sense of lightness and agility before you so much as start the all-new 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine, which makes 916bhp all on its own and revs to 9200rpm. Reach up to a roof-mounted control panel to find the starter button. Maybe this fighter plane trope is a little corny, but somehow you feel thrilled rather than manipulated. The W1 has a sense of humour as well as all that motorsport-derived sophistication. There’s a short delay, but when the engine does fire it’s instant – as the high-powered hybrid system negates the need for an old-school starter motor. A sharp flare of revs tells you that this engine is hyper-responsive and angry. On some deep level your brain and body have been sent all the signals required to prepare for something new and intense. Ahead of us, an empty Mugello racetrack, so press and hold the blue button next to the red starter to select Race mode. The centre display graphic shows the W1’s transformation in real time as it lowers by 37mm at the front and 17mm at the rear whilst simultaneously undocking all that active aero goodness. Race mode is not road legal and is geo-locked. You can show your friends and neighbours the aero dance, but it won’t allow you to select a gear to actually drive unless you’re at a circuit. Incidentally, the rocker switches either side of the display binnacle allow further options now: Toggle up the Handling control on the left for Race+ (for F1-spec super smooth tracks) or stick to Race for gnarlier ones. On the right toggle select ‘GP’ for sustained performance over a stint or ‘Sprint’ to unleash all 1258bhp for a time attack. There’s also a DRS and Boost function on the steering wheel. But I guarantee you won’t have the mental capacity to use them… Exit the pitlane, pin the throttle and W1 takes maybe a millisecond or two to gather its might (the gearing stretches to around 60mph in first, nearly 100mph in second, primarily to aid traction), but then lunges at the first turn with incredible ferocity. It instantly feels light, almost like inertia is no longer a thing. McLaren really does prize lightweight engineering, and at 3084lbs (dry) the W1 has a 278lbs advantage over the Ferrari F80. Plus, Ferrari uses figures for cars fitted with every single carbon fibre option. In reality, the gap is probably wider still. The impression of agility and stunning control continues as the track is unravelled at startling pace. The electric motor mounted to the side of the new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission is good for 342bhp and 324lb ft and it boosts any low rev lethargy the new flat-plane crank V8 might have (spoiler alert: It doesn’t appear to have any), so the W1 just feels massively, almost impossibly powerful at any revs. Even so, there’s real reward for wringing it out to 9200rpm and the power curve feels superheated but organic, too. In Race mode the steering – still hydraulically powered – has less assistance and it is noticeably heavier than other McLarens. However, that resistance is welcome as it gives you something to push against and imparts so much information about the front grip level. New Pirelli Trofeo RS tyres with a bigger front footprint than P1 or Senna really help. The front-end feels incredibly secure and the rear-axle follows with perfectly-aligned precision. The whole car feels super-stiff, completely locked into the surface and inspires confidence, but there’s an inherent agility and adjustability that means you’re quickly confident to push at its limits and really impose yourself on the chassis. It’s such a complex car but the driving experience is intuitive, and the driver feels a key contributor rather than just amazed (or terrified) observer, holding on for dear life. Every dynamic ingredient really is shockingly effective and yet has a subtlety and lightness of touch. From that delicious steering to the incredible brakes, the W1 just feels so mission-focussed, so hooked-up. Only the new 8-speed gearbox is a slightly disappointment. It’s fast and punchy, but after the scintillating energy of the Ferrari F80 ’box it feels competent rather than inspired. Other quibbles – it’s okay to quibble when the starting price is $2.1-million before tax and destination charge. Well, that new twin-turbocharged V8 sounds tightly wound and aggressive but if you have a P1 tucked in the garage you’ll miss the snorting, Darth Vader-style soundscape and all the drama that goes with it. Ferrari does this better, too. The F80 sounds deathly dull from the outside but is a riot of turbochargers, electric motors and all sorts of mechanical fury within the cockpit. Even so, the W1 is wildly entertaining on track, and the rear-drive configuration makes it more of a challenge and more satisfying than the F80 when chasing lap times or just sliding around for fun. In the Ferrari, you must second-guess what the front e-axle might do, whereas in the W1 it’s all on you. There are plenty of tools to help, including the ingenious Variable Drift Control, but somehow the W1 is more heroic. Or at least fools you into feeling more heroic – which is surely the point! On the road? Nimble, loaded with feel and sublime response. The ride is noticeably tougher than, say, a 750S but the control is ramped-up too, and with a bit more speed the whole car finds a delicious rhythm. Sport mode for the drivetrain brings some nice turbo whooshes and chirps, but the noise remains high-quality rather than extreme excitement. It is perhaps the one area the W1 feels just a little too tame. Of course, there’s nothing tame about the raw performance… which is genuinely shocking and literally hurts your neck muscles after a few hours. How McLaren has given the W1 such immense traction through just two driven wheels is beyond me. So, is it worthy of that ‘1’? I think so. Perhaps we won’t be talking about $25-million auction results for the W1 in 30 years from now, as we are for the F1. Perhaps it doesn’t quite have the amazing presence and jaw-dropping star quality of the simply gorgeous P1. But it is such an intense experience and the way it marries stunning track performance with delicate poise and entertainment on normal roads is something akin to magic. Maybe not ‘the one’ but definitely a searing, outrageous addition to McLaren’s fiercest family line. Just 399 W1’s will be built and they’re all sold. I’m not surprised at all. View All McLarens For Sale Images: McLaren Automotive

Graham Rahal Reveals His New Maserati MC12

By Jordan Aquistapace – February 11, 2026

Check Out Graham Rahal's New Maserati MC12

With an impressive racing resume that includes a 19-season career in the NTT IndyCar Series, a 2011 win at the 24 Hours of Daytona, and a five-time winner in Champ Car Atlantic, you have to wonder what scratches the automotive itch for a driver of that caliber. This just so happens to be the magic question for Graham Rahal, a man who already surrounds himself with ultra-exclusive supercars and collector cars on a daily basis through his operations at Graham Rahal Performance in Zionsville, Indiana. And while the massive dealership is filled with an extensive inventory that features everything from 1-of-1 collector Porsches to ultra-exclusive Ferraris, something has to be extremely special to earn its spot inside Graham’s personal collection. The IndyCar racer recently gave fans and followers a glimpse at that on Instagram after revealing his ‘new to him’ Maserati MC12, kicking off the caption with “Starting 2026 off with my biggest purchase ever.” It's most definitely worth noting that the term “new” is more than accurate with this 22-year-old supercar, as the odometer on the MC12 reads only 800 miles from new. Adding to the already-impressive history, Graham’s newest addition to the garage happens to be the first Maserati MC12 ever produced, also making an appearance as Maserati’s official display car from the Geneva Motor Show in 2004. The Maserati MC12 shapes itself as one of the most influential and unlikely supercars of the 21st century, born from Maserati’s return to international GT racing and built to homologate a dominant race program. Sharing its Ferrari-derived 6.0L naturally aspirated V12 with the Enzo, another fan favorite of Rahal’s, the MC12 delivers around 630 horsepower and a truly raw driving experience. Limited to just 50 road cars, the MC12 quietly rose from an overlooked outlier to a blue-chip collector icon, now recognized as a pinnacle Maserati and one of the most significant homologation supercars ever built. Although being a true collector who understands that everything has a price, Graham Rahal has already made it very clear that this will be staying in his collection, saying in the Instagram caption, “This is an icon that’s coming to be displayed in our museum and is not for sale! I cannot wait to see it!” Securing one of his dream cars, we tip our hats to Graham Rahal on his new Maserati MC12 and cannot wait to see more content once it arrives and becomes a main display in the GRP museum. All GRP Inventory

By Jordan Aquistapace – March 18, 2025

James Harden Promotes His New Sneaker Release With A Matc...

New shoes, new supercar. With a keen eye for rare collector cars and Italian supercars, NBA superstar James Harden always seems to pull up to pre-game in something eye-catching, whether it be a Ferrari F8 Spider or a classic drop-top Mustang 5.0. Being a fashion-forward guy with a love for all things automotive, it's no surprise to hear that the Los Angeles Clippers Point Guard has been styling the colorway of his basketball sneakers to match the spec on his supercars. Promoting the new version of his popular adidas Harden Volume 9 sneaker, James Harden recently arrived at The Intuit Dome behind the wheel of a Maserati MC20 sporting a special livery. Designed to resemble the actual look of the Harden Volume 9's new "Metamorphis" colorway, the MC20 features a matte teal vinyl wrap that is identical to the shoe itself. The B-pillar even shows off a black chrome 'V9' badge to signify the special release and mesh patterns to mimic its breathable construction. James Harden wrapped up the promotion with a photoshoot of him wearing the Harden Volume 9s while driving Maserati's 621 horsepower supercar. Having already inspired the last drop by his Ferrari, the Metamorphic Harden Volume 9 may have taken the top spot with the matching MC20. Pick up your own pair and check out all the Maserati MC20s for sale on duPont REGISTRY by clicking the links below. Shop The adidas Harden Volume 9 Sneakers View All Maserati MC20s For Sale View this post on Instagram A post shared by James Harden (@jharden13) Source: @jharden13/@adidasbasketball Instagram

By Tyler Rampersaud – April 14, 2023

David Beckham Drives The New Maserati GranTurismo In A Ne...

Maserati’s superstar partner gets behind the wheel of the GranTurismo.

18715 MaseratiMC20FuoriserieEditionforDavidBeckham

By Edward Jones – December 15, 2021

David Beckham's Maserati MC20 Revealed as a Celebration o...

This new supercar celebrates the Magic City of Miami. Just after David Beckham test drove the Maserati MC20, his example of the new Italian supercar has been revealed. Named the Maserati MC20 Fuoriserie Edition for David Beckham, the central theme behind the supercar is the city of Miami. Beckham worked with Maserati's Fuoriserie customization program to create his ideal MC20 and the result is fantastic. The overall color scheme of Beckham's new Maserati is black and pink, just like his soccer team's color (Inter Miami CF). The exterior features a black body that's contrasted by the pastel pink on the MC20 badge on the door and brake calipers. Inside, this color scheme continues with black leather and Alcantara, while pink is the color of choice for the stitching, embroidery, and Maserati Fuoriserie lettering on the center tunnel. "Cars are about individual taste whether it’s the model, color, or small personal details on the inside," said David Beckham. "It has been incredible to collaborate with the Maserati team and designers to create this one-off car that is inspired by my second home, Miami, and my football club there. It is a joy to be behind the wheel." So if you see this magical Maserati cruising around the city of Miami, know that it's none other than David Beckham behind the wheel. See All Maseratis For Sale Source: Maserati

By Edward Jones – June 14, 2021

David Beckham Checks Out the Maserati MC20

The new brand global ambassador for Maserati checks out their supercar. It was in April that Maserati announced David Beckham as their newest brand global ambassador. Now, in June, he's checking out their most extreme creation to date. The famous footballer recently spent some time with the Maserati MC20, the automaker's new supercar that is an absolute hit with everyone it meets. Maserati posted images of the Beckham with the supercar on their Instagram, which you can check out down below. While Maserati doesn't say whether or not Beckham will be getting his own MC20, it seems to be that the two are a perfect pair. See All Maseratis For Sale https://www.instagram.com/p/CQFAC2HtK2W/ Source: Maserati/Instagram

By Edward Jones – April 12, 2021

David Beckham is Now a Maserati Brand Ambassador

Drive it like Bechkam. Most automakers have a lineup of brand ambassadors that typically consists of celebrities and athletes. Their role as "brand ambassador" is to be the face of the brand and bring awareness to their products. So, naturally, these brands want to bring in celebrities or athletes that have a large following. For Maserati, they have just hired an athlete/celebrity that is a true legend in the world of soccer: David Beckham. Paolo Tubito, Maserati Chief Marketing Officer, commented: “The Brand is moving forward, inaugurated a new Era. Maserati is driven to challenge the status quo being innovative by nature, powered by passion, and unique by design. The partnership with David is the embodiment of all these values.” Beckham had this to say regarding his new role: “It’s an exciting time for me to begin this partnership with Maserati; an iconic Italian brand which shares my appreciation for the very best innovation and design. I’m looking forward to working closely with the brand at such a pivotal time in their history and continuing their growth on a global scale.” In the video up above, you'll see Beckham's first appearance as brand ambassador, so be sure to click play. If he happened to talk you into a Maserati, click the button below to see what's for sale. See Maseratis For Sale Source: Maserati

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