The McLaren Senna: A 588kW road-legal hypercar

Wheels24 - The McLaren Senna edition has been designed, engineered and developed with single-minded purpose - to be the ultimate track-tuned car ‘legalised’ for the road.The ultimate road-legal, track-concentrated McLaren hypercar will make its public debut at the 88th Geneva International Motor Show in March 2018.Codenamed M840TR, the 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 engine at the heart of the McLaren Senna is the most powerful road car internal combustion engine created by McLaren, producing 588 kW and 800 Nm.The third model introduced under the McLaren Track22 business plan, the McLaren Senna will be hand-assembled in England at the McLaren Production Centre. Production will be limited to 500 vehicles, each costing from £750 000 (approximately N$13.6 million) and all already allocated. Carbon-fibre structure The carbon-fibre Monocage III chassis that forms the core of the McLaren Senna is a further development of the structure that underpins the McLaren 720S and the strongest monocoque yet by McLaren for a road-legal vehicle.Every body panel is made from carbon fibre, in line with a focus on the weight of every individual component that has resulted in the McLaren Senna being the lightest road-legal McLaren since the iconic F1 road car, at just 1 198 kg.McLaren says that there are strong echoes in the new McLaren Senna of the incredibly focused philosophy behind the McLaren P1; where the latter was designed to be the best driver’s car on road and track, the ambition for the McLaren Senna is for it to be the best road-legal track car.It’s all in the name Given the famous name that this new McLaren bears, its unrivalled extreme performance and dynamic excellence should be no surprise. The legendary Formula 1 racing driver was renowned for his exceptional powers of concentration and single-minded focus on being the best on the track.The McLaren Senna driver is hardwired into the dynamic experience the car delivers. Their connection to the car comes through the steering wheel, the pedals and the seat. According to McLaren: "The indomitable spirit of Ayrton Senna has always been alive at McLaren and the McLaren Senna will further amplify his global legacy and link to the McLaren brand."The doors, which are constructed from carbon fibre, feature two-piece glass side windows with a fixed top part and a smaller opening section below. Both the door upper (effectively part of the roof) and the lower half of the door side can be specified with glass as a replacement for the carbon fibre panels that are standard-fit.The cockpit environment reflects the stripped-back, functional nature that is evident in every aspect of the McLaren Senna.Visual carbon fibre is used extensively. Dependent on customer preference, Alcantara or leather covers the seats, facia and side airbags, but the absence of any other interior trim both saves weight and reveals the construction of the doors. Even the gas struts used to open them are exposed to save vital grams.

The McLaren Senna: A 588kW road-legal hypercar

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-13

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The McLaren Senna: A 588kW road-legal hypercar

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-13

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