The McLaren 650S has been around since 2014, but it was based on the McLaren 12C, which came out in 2011. I know. So long ago. It needs a replacement soon. And this is that replacement.
In case you had any doubts, a source within the company confirmed that this is definitely a McLaren. It would make sense, too, because everything else in the McLaren lineup is still relatively new. And it definitely isn’t the P1 successor because it doesn’t look nearly enough like a spaceship.
This car is supposed to be the 650S successor, and it’s internally known as the P14, the sleuths who originally got these photos told us. McLaren’s CEO confirmed that it will use a development of the company’s much-loved twin-turbo V8 at the last Geneva Motor Show.
And it’ll also be a hell of a lot faster than the 650S, because it needs to be. McLaren’s other cars, like the 570S, are just so damn quick as it is. If you want to charge more money, you have to give customers more speed.
But the spies who saw it in person got some even more interesting info:
Clearly visible from the undisguised prototype snapped in Spain are radical active aerodynamics, which have been designed into the car from first principles. Ultra-powerful LED lights will enable the P14 to shift to this completely new front-end graphic and the cabin has been completely rethought, with an intuitive control system.
Already looks damn good.
It seems as though McLaren has finally ditched the manic-looking Joker grin that’s been the corporate front for a little while now. I understand it’s supposed to be aerodynamic, sculpted by science, blah blah blah, but every time I saw the front of those cars, I also always saw a fish.
The back also looks great, although those tailpipes sticking out like that seem a little sloppy and unMcLaren. I figure that McLaren will put some more streamlined exhaust tips on the final version when it’s unveiled.
All in all, not bad.