Thankfully, if the 12C supercar is anything to go by, then the P1 should be fine. Shmee150 has had a good poke around the latter, making three videos detailing his time with the car. He was able to catch up with it as the owner had had taken it to have protective film stuck to its body, for obvious carbon fiber clear coat stone chipping reasons.
The first video’s highpoint is the passenger ride that shows just how much of an overkill move it is to drive the P1 through regular traffic, at regular speeds, and the ease with which it accelerates and does away with gears is impressive. According to the uploader, “The other videos you are going to see of this car include a detailed tour looking around it, showing you the interior, inside the various flaps and parts of the car and talking about some of the features.”
Check all of them out after the virtual break!
By Andrei Nedelea
Part of what made me stay until the end was their (British-biased) selection of candidates for the title: McLaren 12C GT Can-Am, Caterham Seven 620R, Radical RXC, BAC Mono, Litchfield Subaru BRZ Spec S (supercharged from 200 to 280 hp), Mini JCW GP, Ariel Atom 3.5 Supercharged and Porsche Cayman S.
The track chosen to try out the cars on was Blyton Park, which seems to be placed on very flat ground with no features (it’s marginally better as a setting than Top Gear’s airfield). Still, the typically British overcast day probably made for some nice beauty shots.
I won’t tell you which they chose as their favorite, but I will tell you that it’s not the Porsche – it was severely outnumbered by Brits, and it was much more of a usable road car than pretty much all the other models, except, perhaps the Mini.
By Andrei Nedelea
According to a report from AutoExpress, the mid-engined P13 will be priced from £120,000 in the UK, which at current exchange rates is equivalent to €140,950 or $194,000. According to a “well-placed source” quoted by the magazine, the P13 will feature the same 3.8-liter V8 turbocharged engine as the 12C, but detuned to produce around 450 hp.
Thanks to its smaller size and carbon fiber construction, the P13 will weigh less than the 12C (1,434 kg/3,161 lbs) and be considerably lighter than the 911 Turbo (1,600 kg/3,527 lbs). This means the McLaren should be close to the 911 Turbo’s 0-100 km/h time of 3.4 seconds.
The P13’s styling is said to be inspired by the P1 hypercar rather than the MP4-12C, so the car may feature P1-style wraparound headlights with LED strips underneath. The baby McLaren will have a shorter wheelbase than the 12C, but will be based on the same carbon fiber monocoque.
Most of the development work is reportedly finished, which means we may see the P13 in late 2014, with sales to start in early 2015.
By Dan Mihalascu
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS
From what we understand, the story originated from YouTube author 'swsthebest1994' who filmed the car and stated the following: "Today I recorded this McLaren P1 on the Nürburgring. Today the P1 did a record time on the Nürburgring of 6:47 minutes [Not official yet]!"
Given the lack of any information whatsoever to support the claim, we're just going to leave it at what it is: a rumor, until we hear more, and let you watch the video of the P1 right past the break.
Before you do that, we'll remind you that Porsche recently announced an official 'Ring time of 6:57 for its hybrid supercar, the 918 Spyder.
Story References: Worldcarfans
Furthermore, the McLaren P1 goes from zero to 300 km/h (186 mph) in 16.5 seconds, which makes it a full 5.5 seconds quicker than the legendary McLaren F1 supercar. Finally, top speed is electronically limited to 350 km/h (217 mph).
What’s even more surprising for a car capable of such ballistic performance is the fuel consumption. The lightweight electric motor that assists the 3.8-liter twin turbo V8 petrol engine contributes to an average fuel economy of 8.3 l/100 km (34 mpg UK, 28.3 mpg US) and CO2 emissions of 194 g/km. The electric motor offers a range of 11 km (6.8 miles) in full electric mode on the NEDC cycle.
Braking figures are impressive as well, with the bespoke Akebono system fitted with carbon ceramic discs bringing the McLaren P1 to a halt from 62 mph (100 km/h) in a distance of just 30.2 metres or 99 feet. McLaren says that the P1 needs three times less space to brake than an average car, which needs 102 meters (334.6 ft). With all these figures, the P1's Nürburgring lap time should be something to brag about.
McLaren said it will build 375 P1s until mid-2015, with each car taking 17 days to make. The first unit rolled off the production line at the end of September and was collected from the McLaren Technology Centre by its UK-based owner. The first of the 375 features a striking Volcano Yellow paint with contrasting visual carbon fiber.
By Dan Mihalascu
And yes, this author is clearly quite disappointed (and that's probably an understatement) with the sounds recorded from Honda's newly developed 1.6-liter V6 racing engine crafted for use by McLaren in the 2015 Formula 1 season.
"Today Honda has released a recording of its new F1 engine, which was recently fired for the first time," the Japanese automaker said in a short statement that accompanied the video. "The engine is being developed for the 2015 season where Honda will participate under a joint project with McLaren."
Unlike us, Manabu Nishimae, President of Honda Motor Europe, was thrilled with the first sounds of his company's creation: “It is exciting to hear the cry of our new born Formula One engine for the first time," he said. "Our engineers are working hard to develop the engine and we are all looking forward to the start of the 2015 season.”
Hopefully, they can also work on making it sound less like a kitchen appliance…
Car Magazine reports having spotted a P1 in full-attack mode around the German track, with its rear wing in its most aggressive position, and suspension supposedly dropped – they say by 50 mm, but we’ll only believe that backed up by some sort of official claim, not measuring the ground clearance by eye, which seems to have been the case here…
The car they spotted was a prototype, and not only did it have all its weapons deployed, but it was also reportedly driven very briskly, putting them to good use. The aim, as our source speculates, is to beat Porsche’s time, which does make sense, with the importance given to whomever gets the crown, as well as remembering this, and thinking it may not be more than just inspirational – it could be a goal, couldn’t it?
We hope it all comes true and eventually ends up including the Ferrari LaFerrari and other comparable (and not necessarily hybrid) hypercars.
By Andrei Nedelea
Ed. Note: The following videos are from previous running sessions in the summer
Clarkson confirmed it with a Twitter post that read, "Right. The P1. Complete game changer. The next chapter in motoring. Speed like you simply would not believe".
The black-colored P1 was both filmed and photographed in and around the racetrack by fans of the show, with the famed matte-black Mercedes-Benz Pursuit ML63 AMG camera car and a helicopter also making an appearance.
We assume it won't be long before we see the car on Top Gear's television show, but until then, enjoy the material we have right below the jump.
Photos via Mike Crawat Photography, Videos via Cvdzijden and CarExposure, Hat tip to Vincent from Autoblog.nl !
Right. The P1. Complete game changer. The next chapter in motoring. Speed like you simply would not believe.
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) October 10, 2013
The Swiss brand continues its partnership with the Woking-based F1 team, making sure that Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button flash their timepieces at every opportunity. 
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