Built to be the company’s most track-specific road-going vehicle, the Senna’s mid-engine, carbon-fibre design has been described by its creators as “brutal” and “unforgiving” with all their efforts channelled into creating a supercar with unprecedented levels of downforce, designed to deliver the most intensive track experience possible.
The lightest McLaren built since the F1, the £750,000 Senna weighs just 1,198kg, which is 220kg lighter than the McLaren 720S, and boasts a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8, producing 800PS and 800N/m. The result is a barely comprehensible power-to-weight ratio of 688PS-per-tonne. There’s nothing organic, or fluid about the design of the Senna, this is a car crafted by aerodynamics.
Built around McLarens’ lightest ever chassis, the one-piece carbonfibre Monocage III, oversized intakes at the front flanks epitomise the car’s barbarous design, with active flaps directing air for aerodynamics or cooling as required, with used warm air forced over the roof and away from the engine cooling intake. More intakes along the flanks suck air into the engine bay, and out through the louvres on the engine cover, while the hydraulically controlled twin-plane rear wing constantly moves – it can angle through nearly 90 degrees when needed as an airbrake, and also help to minimise drag.
McLaren is remaining tight-lipped on Senna’s official performance figures but expect top speeds in excess of 320kph, with acceleration a toupée-troubling 0-96kph in around 2.5 seconds.
But the story here is really one of fanatical devotion to weight loss. A new carbon fibre recipe has enabled engineers to slash the weight of the front wing from 2.2kg to just 650g, the engine has been lowered to help reduce weight further, and the 8.8kg doors are half the weight of those on the McLaren 720s. As a final flourish, Mclaren’s latest carbon-ceramic brakes have been reengineered to hit peak operating temperature 50 degrees lower than normal, while, you guessed it, weighing significantly less than their predecessors.
The suspension is an enhanced version of the existing double-wishbone layout, with hydraulically interconnected dampeners and a separate hydraulic system working as an anti-roll bar. It’s all controlled via the Race Active Chassis Control II (RCC II) that incorporates an automatic stiffness control called K-damper. While you can leave the RCC II to tweak performance automatically according to road conditions – choose from Comfort, Sport and Track modes – you can configure absolutely everything manually.
Limited to a run of 500 – and already sold out – Senna is a car designed for racing. Built without compromise and void of frippery and frills, while it might be road legal, zero concession has been made for the school run, with storage limited to a rear bulkhead cavity that’s only just large enough for a couple of spare helmets. Even the front number plate is quick-release, to help maintain airflow – and reduce weight – on track days.
Read more: The best cars from the 2018 Geneva Motor Show
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
