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

Lamborghini News

Lamborghini news from duPont REGISTRY News, updated daily, covering the V12 hybrid Revuelto, the Temerario and the Urus, one of the biggest names in luxury SUV news. Our reporting runs across reveals, first drives, one-off builds and the auction results that set values. We also follow the earlier cars, from the Countach through to the Veneno. Many sites carry supercar news, but very few carry it beside live listings. A great many of the Lamborghinis covered here are listed for sale on duPont REGISTRY, so the reporting and a real asking price appear together. For Lamborghini news today, start with the stories below.

By Tyler Rampersaud – November 21, 2022

Lamborghini Talks to Gumball 3000's Founder In Support Of...

Lamborghini and the founder of Gumball 3000 rally support for men’s health. Lamborghini has announced a partnership with Movember, the international movement that advocated for increased awareness of men’s health issues. Sporting the movement’s symbol of a mustache, Lamborghini’s cars and the Bologna football club have already sported the mustache in support of the movement for this month, but Lamborghini has continued the support for the movement by talking to Maximillion Cooper, founder of Gumball 3000, a car rally that creates incredible journeys where supercar owners can enjoy their machines together. MUST READ: Lamborghini’s The Engine Songs V10 Playlist Celebrates The Huracan Tecnica’s Roar Being together is one of the most crucial aspects of Gumball 3000 and Movember, whose goal is to encourage men to share and discuss their issues. With Lamborghini’s incredible cars and partnership with this important global cause, and Gumball 3000’s epic and bucket list-worthy automotive events, all three come together to bring more joy and community across the globe. View All Lamborghinis For Sale View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lamborghini (@lamborghini) Source: Instagram/Lamborghini

By Tyler Rampersaud – November 21, 2022

Lamborghini's The Engine Songs V10 Playlist Celebrates Th...

Lamborghini’s creative and clever celebration of its engines. As the landscape of powertrains sees dramatic change on the horizon throughout the automotive industry, Lamborghini is currently taking the time to celebrate the splendor of the innovation, engineering, and performance of its various engines, from the legendary V12 that represented the flagship cars to the V10 of the Gallardo and Huracan to the twin-turbocharged V8 engine that powers the Lamborgini Urus Super SUV. The unique way in which Lamborghini has decided to celebrate these engines is through Spotify playlists that are curated and scientifically tuned to match and evoke the sounds of the various engines, and now, Lamborghini delves into the playlist created to honor the unique V10. MUST READ: Lamborghini X Bologna FC Auction A Signed Jersey For Movember The current hero of Lamborghini’s V10 engine is the Huracan Tecnica, a car that combines everyday usability and luxury with bold design and brash V10 performance, featuring the power that graced the track-focused Huracan STO. The second volume of these incredible playlists from Lamborghini, “The Engine Songs V10” is available on Spotify. The process of creating the playlist was the same as that of the V12. The engine was run in Lamborghini’s semi-anechoic chamber, and tests were run on the sound to find potential melodies. For example, the song Hot Cause I’m Fly by Moodrich is able to harmonize with the idling V10 engine, while other songs accompany different engine speeds. If you’re looking for a unique high-octane music discovery, The Engine Songs V10 is available now on Spotify. View All Lamborghini Huracans For Sale Source: Lamborghini

By Tyler Rampersaud – November 17, 2022

Lamborghini X Bologna FC Auction A Signed Jersey For Move...

Lamborghini and The Bologna football club enter a mustached partnership. Lamborghini is a brand founded and headquartered in Bologna, so when it comes to athlete partners, Bologna’s own football club (soccer team for those in the United States) made for the perfect match. This November, Lamborghini and the Bologna football club’s players came together, strangely sporting silly faux mustaches. The players, the Huracan, and even the Urus were adorned with a mustache, but that is because the partnership between Lamborghini and the Bologna football club is for a cause. MUST READ: Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae Vs SVJ: Which is Better? The mustache is the symbol of “Movember,” an international campaign that advocates for awareness of men’s health issues during the month of November. For this cause and as part of the football club and supercar manufacturer’s long-standing partnership with each other, a new jersey has been created with the number 63 in honor of Lamborghini’s founding year, and the autographed jersey will be auctioned off with the proceeds being donated to Movember. Together, Lamborghini and the Bologna football club can reach incredible goals. View All Lamborghinis For Sale Source: Lamborghini

By Tyler Rampersaud – November 16, 2022

Steve Aoki And Krista Kim Participated In The Delivery Of...

A futuristic creative project makes for an incredible sendoff for this important car. For Lamborghini, the “pure” naturally aspirated V12 is saying goodbye after spending decades as one of the most important representations of the brand and its approach to performance. Its final form is in the Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae, and the very last Aventador Ultimae Coupe has been delivered, and with it came a special 1-of-1, created as a unique and celebratory project with artist Krista Kim and musician Steve Aoki. MUST READ: Lamborghini’s New “The Engine Songs” Spotify Playlists Match Music To Engine Noises The auction was held in April of this year, and it represented the first NFT to be auctioned along with a real supercar, placing the Aventador at the cutting edge of culture and technology, right up to the very moment of its retirement. For the handover ceremony, the collector who won the auction was given the opportunity to meet Krista Kim in pserson and Steve Aoki virtually for the celebration. While it will be difficult to mourn the loss of the naturally-aspirated V12 in Lamborghini cars, this incredible delivery experience for the final Aventador Ultimae Coupe and its matching NFT represent that Lamborghini has a much brighter future with more incredible things to come very soon. View All Lamborghini Aventador Ultimaes For Sale Source: Lamborghini

By Tyler Rampersaud – November 15, 2022

Lamborghini's New "The Engine Songs" Spotify Playlists Ma...

This project is something you’ll have to hear to believe. Engine notes have always been at the forefront of the experience of cars for automotive enthusiasts, and with the rise of electric vehicles, the sounds of our favorite cars are about to change in a big way. Being one of the few brands that mainly championed the V12 and V10 engine, Lamborghini is seeing sweeping change on the horizon, and the end of an important part of its brand, and to help say a bittersweet goodbye, the brand is celebrating the unique sounds of its engines in a very unique way. MUST READ: Lamborghini Day Japan Featured 180 Lamborghinis Including The New Urus Performante While many say that the best engine notes sound like music, Lamborghini took that literally and created a curated playlist on Spotify with songs that are inspired by and match aspects of Lamborghini's various engines. There are playlists for the Lamborghini V12, V10, and twin-turbocharged V8, and the songs in the playlists were tuned and curated by producer Alex Trecarichi to match the engines. He was able to use artificial intelligence to mimic a process our brain does on its own to discover the pitches and notes that the engines “sing” at, and match them to the different keys of the musical pieces in each playlist. The engineering and beauty of Lamborghini’s creations go far beyond the cars themselves, and these new playlists prove that the best engine notes are truly music to our ears. View All Lamborghinis For Sale Source: Lamborghini

By Tyler Rampersaud – November 15, 2022

Lamborghini Day Japan Featured 180 Lamborghinis Including...

Tokyo hosts an amazing automotive Bull Run. Tokyo’s waterfront Sea Forest Waterway was originally created for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but now, it’s hosted yet another incredible event, this time for Lamborghini. The festival brought in 180 cars and featured a parade of Lamborghinis through Tokyo, and also included the Japanese unveiling of the new, faster Urus Performante Super SUV. Some of the rare, powerful, and beautiful cars that were in attendance included the new Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4, the Aventador Ultimae, and the Sian FKP 35. MUST READ: The New Off-Road Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato Is Coming On November 30 Models like the Huracan STO showed up as well, along with classics like the Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary and the Diablo GTR. Over 600 guests witnessed the unveiling of the new Urus Performante. The new SUV from Lamborghini features even more distilled performance, with nearly 657 horsepower and the ability to get from 0-60 mph in under 3.3 seconds. Its incredible performance and dynamism, especially within its class, earned it the world record for production-spec SUVs on the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb course. At Lamborghini Day Japan, it was featured alongside the icon that inspired it, the Lamborghini LM 002. The festival also featured an Ad Personam area, a Miura SV restored by Lamborghini’s Polo Storico department, and appearances from partners like Roger Dubuis and Ducati, with its Sian FKP 37-inspired Diavel 1260 Lamborghini. This past Lamborghini Day Japan was an epic event that showed off the best of one of the automotive world’s most iconic brands. View All Lamborghinis For Sale Source: Lamborghini

By Tyler Rampersaud – November 14, 2022

The New Off-Road Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato Is Coming O...

It’s finally about to be here, and ready to go everywhere. It’s been teased for years, but even still, the idea of the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato seemed like it was too good to be true. The concept of Lamborghini’s iconic mid-engined, V10-powered supercar being reworked into an off-road-ready beast still feels as though it’s something that can only exist in a video game or pipe-dream fantasy, however, Lamborghini is confirming that it is real, and will be fully revealed at this year’s Art Basel Miami at the end of this month. MUST READ: 2022 Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae Review: Is This The Ultimate Aventador? Lamborghini says that the Hurcan Sterrato is designed to bring the pleasure of driving a Lamborghini supercar to unpaved roads with dirt or loose surfaces, and it will reimagine the Huracan’s performance with unprecedented off-road capability in the supercar package. In the “Beyond the Concrete” teaser videos, Lamborghini has shown off the off-road readiness of a camouflaged Huracan Sterrato and demonstrated how it can play an exciting role in adventurous life for the supercar owner who wants to experience one of the world’s greatest driving pleasures both on and off-road. Before the end of this month, unpaved roads everywhere are preparing for a bull run. View All Lamborghini Huracans For Sale Source: Lamborghini

2017 Lamborghini Aventador SV 659999 1871503411 1

By Tyler Rampersaud – November 12, 2022

This One-Of-One 2017 Lamborghini Aventador SV For Sale Is...

Own a unique icon that is becoming a piece of automotive history. Lamborghini is going through big changes, as it is currently in the process of waving goodbye to the “pure” naturally aspirated combustion engines that have powered generations of incredible performance cars. The especially bittersweet farewell is to the V12, which proudly represented Lamborghini’s flagship cars for decades, all the way back to the Fighting Bull brand’s early history. The Lamborghini Aventador is the last Lamborghini to have a pure naturally aspirated V12, and now that it has finished production, an era that spanned over half a century is over, and the Aventador’s status as a piece of automotive history is confirmed. MUST READ: 2022 Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae Review: Is This The Ultimate Aventador? This Nero Aldebaran-finished 2017 Lamborghini Aventador SV is already a piece of history in itself, and it is undoubtedly a future classic. However, this particular car is even more special, because it is signed by Lamborghini employees under its trunk. With an Ad Personam configuration, stunning gold wheels, and the unique and personal 1-of-1 touch of the signatures, this autographed legendary Lamborghini is going to be even more of a gem as the years go by, and it’s available for sale now at Lamborghini Dallas through duPont REGISTRY. View the price and listing by clicking below. View Price And Listingla

By Tyler Rampersaud – November 07, 2022

Lamborghini Boasts Strong Financial Performance With The ...

Lamborghini enters a new era as a very strong brand. With the delivery of the final Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae, the brand has bid farewell finally to the “pure” naturally-aspirated V12 that has personified its flagship models for the overwhelming majority of its history. However, as bittersweet as that goodbye is, it means opening a new and unique chapter that has new and different approaches to performance and luxury coming to the Fighting Bull brand. In the first 9 months of the year, Lamborghini achieved deliveries increased by 8 percent over the same period last year, and that’s just the beginning of the good news so far. MUST READ: Lamborghini And Iron Lynx Announce A New Motorsport Partnership For 2023 Planning to hybridize the entire range by 2024, Lamborghini begins its journey towards that goal financially strong, with turnover increased by 30.1 percent compared to 2021’s equivalent period, and profit for the period increasing by an incredible 68.5 percent in turn. For this success, Lamborghini credits an increase in the volume of sales, as well as an increase in revenue per car due to customization and the range to choose from, as well as favorable currency exchange rates. With two new Urus models introduced recently, the Performante and the S, Lamborghini plans to end the year even stronger, teasing an off-road capable Huracan that will serve as the swan-song for the pure naturally aspirated engine for Lamborghini at Art Basel Miami. View All Lamborghinis For Sale Source: Lamborghini

By Tyler Rampersaud – November 07, 2022

Lamborghini And Iron Lynx Announce A New Motorsport Partn...

An incredible racing partnership takes shape next season. Endurance racing is one of the motorsport world’s ultimate tests for both a car and a driver, as speed, focus, and dependability all come together to take the victory, and this coming endurance racing season, both for the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA SportsCar Championship, is shaping up to be highly anticipated, with manufacturers from around the world entering cars and taking a chance at building an incredible legacy for themselves and their futures. MUST READ: Lamborghini Participates In The DESI Project To Prepare Students For Automotive Jobs For The Fifth Year Lamborghini is one of these brands, and at the Lamborghini finals in Portimão, it announced a partnership with Iron Lynx for this coming endurance racing season in 2023 as Lamborghini Iron Lynx. The partnership includes collaboration on Lamborghini’s LMDh prototype, powered by a hybrid and twin-turbocharged V8 engine. Starting at the 24 Hours of Daytona next year, Lamborghini and Iron Lynx will debut their partnership with the green #63 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2. Iron Lynx and Lamborghini will also come together for the one-make Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe championship in 2023. This new partnership between Iron Lynx and Lamborghini is bound to make next year an epic one for the motorsport world. View All Lamborghini Huracans For Sale Source: Lamborghini

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