The McLaren W1, is it worthy of the “1” title? As many car enthusiasts know McLaren has made a super performance line of hyper cars that bear the “1” title in their name, such as the McLaren F1, and the McLaren P1. The “1” Title is only given to the best of the best that McLaren produces, and are held in very high regards inside of the car community. The McLaren W1 has very big shoes to step into, and the community is skeptical about it taking up the “1” mantle.

The McLaren W1 uses the same type of drivetrain as the McLaren P1, but it makes several improvements on the P1’s V8 engine and also the hybrid motors and batteries. It uses a twin-turbo 4.0L V8 with a pair of hybrid motors giving it a grand total of 1258 bhp (brake horse-power). In terms of performance it can achieve a top speed of 217 mp/h (350 km/h), a 0-62 mp/h in 2.7 seconds, a 0-124 mp/h in 5.8 seconds, and produces 988 lb-ft of torque. It also improves on the P1’s active aero system with the active and extendable rear wing, and active lip splitter to engage and disengage the ground effect underneath the car. The whole package produces a staggering 2,205 lbs of downforce on the car, while the car itself weighs 3,084 lbs.

The Mclaren P1, while the predecessor of the McLaren W1, is still very impressive around a track. The Mclaren P1 is my favorite car, and there is a good reason. It uses a twin-turbo V8 and hybrid motor system, much like the McLaren W1. The twin-turbo 3.8L V8 and hybrid powertrain combination makes a staggeringly less 903 bhp, 664 lb-ft of torque, and it weighs in at 3,075 lbs. But even so it still reaches the 217 mp/h top speed that the W1 does. You may be wondering, “how does it go the same speed with so much less power?” The answer is that McLaren is not letting these cars hit their full potential yet, they will purposely limit their speeds because there isn’t a reason to let them go much faster. At a track there won’t be much they could do at 217 mp/h, you would need to slow down to take almost any corner and there aren’t many tracks with long enough straights to use all of their speed. If you were really worried about all-out track performance you would get a GTR model of these cars, with less weight, no hybrid powertrain, more horsepower, and more downforce. The McLaren P1 GTR is an all out track car, and the answer to those who are somehow not satisfied with the regular Mclaren P1.

In my opinion the Mclaren W1 is definitely worthy of the “1” title. With many more improvements and innovations on the already existing Mclaren P1 drivetrain, it is definitely going to be an ultimate road-going track car. But the design elements are still in question, the Mclaren P1 in my opinion, and many others opinions looks much better than the Mclaren W1’s design.