(February 8, 2018) Eagerly awaited technical information and new images of the limited production McLaren Senna supercar have been released ahead of the car’s public debut on March 6 at the 88th Geneva International Motor Show.

True to the legendary abilities of the racing driver Ayrton Senna whose name it bears, the McLaren Senna has been designed, engineered and developed to be the ultimate road-legal McLaren track car.

With 789 bhp and 590 lb-ft of torque from its 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 — McLaren’ s most powerful-ever internal combustion engine in a road car — and the ability to generate a staggering 1,763.7 pounds of downforce, the 2,641-pound McLaren Senna delivers the purest possible connection between driver and car.

Performance is breathtaking. The McLaren Senna can cover 0–62 mph in 2.8 seconds; 0-124 mph is achieved in just 6.8 seconds and a standing quarter-mile in only 9.9 seconds. Impressive though the straight-line acceleration and maximum speed of 211 mph are, the true depth of the performance credentials of the new Ultimate Series McLaren will be revealed when it calls on downforce of up to 1,763.7 pounds on a circuit, against the stop-watch.



“The McLaren Senna is a car like no other: the personification of McLaren’s motorsport DNA, legalized for road use but designed and developed from the outset to excel on a circuit. Every element of this new Ultimate Series McLaren has an uncompromised performance focus, honed to ensure the purest possible connection between driver and machine and deliver the ultimate track driving experience in the way that only a McLaren can,” said Mike Flewitt, chief executive officer, McLaren Automotive

The Senna combines low vehicle weight, extreme power, aerodynamic excellence and a revolutionary, active suspension system to deliver the most responsive and engaging road car experience to date from the British luxury sportscar and supercar maker.

The McLaren Senna is priced at $958,966. Just 500 will be built, each hand-assembled in a 300-hour process at the McLaren Production Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. All are assigned to buyers; the one remaining build allocation having been auctioned in December at a private event for McLaren customers.

The winning bid was £2 million, with the proceeds going to the Ayrton Senna Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing education for nearly two million unprivileged children and youngsters in Brazil.

The visual impact of the car is the equal of its savage performance. Organic shapes have given way to an aggressive design language that is ruthless in bending and guiding airflow to meet aerodynamic requirements and the strongest expression yet of McLaren’s "form follows function" philosophy. Proportionally, it is unmistakably a McLaren, but you cannot follow a single body line from front to rear without it passing through a functional intake or vent.



“The design language of the McLaren Senna is extremely aggressive and different from any previous McLaren — because no other road-legal McLaren has had to fulfill such an uncompromising brief,” explained Rob Melville, design director, McLaren Automotive.

"When you see the car for the first time, you know instantly how single-minded and focused it is; to meet the performance targets we have had to go to an entirely different level from even the McLaren P1.”

Precise control of airflow begins the moment it hits the nose of the car, the air meeting four surfaces — front splitter; active aero blades: secondary fixed aero blades and slot-gaps located between the headlights and daytime running lights – and being turned by each element in sequence. The design of the rear of the car was born entirely from aerodynamic and cooling requirements, prominent "gurney flaps" ahead of a succession of stepped louvres directing air away from the rear deck and down the sides of the body.

The resulting area of low pressure draws hot air out from the high-temperature radiators and engine bay, the louvres ensuring that airflow does not impact rear wing efficiency. Unique slash-cut exhausts make a similar airflow contribution, their positioning and angle negating any disturbance to the wing or rear diffuser.

The exhaust pipes exit through the lowest rear deck (measured at the trailing edge) of any McLaren road car, a full 7.09 inches lower than the McLaren Super Series. In contrast to the ultra-low rear deck, the hydraulically-operated, double-element carbon fiber rear wing — a major contributor to the downforce generated — is noticeably high and constantly adjusts to optimize downforce and maintain ideal aerodynamic balance. The wing weighs just 10.75 pounds, yet can support more than 100 times its own weight in downforce.

The double diffuser at the rear is equally prominent; crafted from a single piece of carbon fiber, it starts under the rear axle and as it increases in height accelerates air out from under the vehicle. This creates a low-pressure zone and sucks the McLaren Senna to the ground.