MCLAREN BP23: ART SCULPTURES FOR CLIENTS OF PRE-ORDERED VEHICLES
If you’ve already placed an order for the imminent McLaren BP23, we suggest you check your post. McLaren has announced those who have pre-ordered the car will receive a sculpture related to the BP23 – and it's the best look yet at the new car’s interior.
Called the ‘Speed Form’, the sculpture is going to all 106 buyers of the new car, and McLaren says each example took around 30 hours of hand polishing. Get past the slightly ridiculous nature of all of this, though, and it gives us a new insight into what the car will look like.
Just like the McLaren F1, the BP23 will feature a three-seat, driver-focused layout – but it’ll be done in a far more swooping, modern style than the original hypercar. Take a look at the model above to see what we mean, and keep reading to find out everything else we know about the next McLaren F1.
McLaren BP23 hypercar: what we know
Top end hybrid power will propel McLaren’s 2020 Ultimate Series car to in excess of 391km/h, the supercar-maker has revealed. That means the three-seat hyper-GT, codenamed BP23, will become the fastest car in McLaren’s history – and the world’s fastest hybrid.
But BP23 is not gunning for the mantle of the world’s fastest production car, set by the 431km/h Bugatti Veyron SuperSport and ratified by Guinness World Records, though subsequently eclipsed in unofficial runs by Hennessey and Köenigsegg supercars.
McLaren sees BP23 as being unique in other ways. Owners will be able to carry a lot of luggage, two passengers, and get from A to B incredibly quickly in the height of luxury and using innovative technology.
The drivetrain will mate an uprated version of the twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 – already summoning 814bhp for the Senna GTR track monster – with electric assistance. 'The V8 will have a lot more power,’ promises the Ultimate Series boss.
The high speed-target throws up logistical issues for the engineering team, such as where to test. The Bugatti (and McLaren F1) achieved v-max at Volkswagen Group’s Ehra-Lessien test track complete with its 5.4-mile straight – the track is probably off limits to McLaren these days though.
BP23 will have adaptive dampers, to provide a ride spectrum from comfortable cruise to track capable, and to enable the body to be lowered for high speed runs.
The final BP23 will use an overhauled version of the 720S’s carbon fibre Monocage tub, revised to accommodate the central driving position. McLaren has been developing the cockpit’s bespoke ergonomics for months, including controls relocated either side of the driver and screens relaying the view along the wings from side-mounted cameras.
The project director is confident that the rearwards view will be relayed by cameras, by meeting the requirements of UN vehicle regulation ECE 46. Its instructions are two-fold: that the screens can’t be turned off, and that the cameras relay the same field of view as mirrors’.
The bigger challenge is finding how to mount the side cameras to deliver the requisite broad view – McLaren is reluctant to mount them on stalks, with its aerodynamic implications, as that would negate the advantage over using side mirrors.
The finished BP23 will be christened with a word, rather than McLaren’s numeric-alpha formula used for the 720S and 570GT. Perhaps the McLaren McLaren, or the McLaren Bruce? Or simply, The Ron?
Regardless, build of the £1.65m (+ taxes) hyper-GT is scheduled for late 2019/early 2020. The 106 lucky customers will be counting the days…