Can-Am glory days
This year McLaren is showing off the Can-Am side of its heritage, a lesser-known area of the British marque’s expertise. Back in the ’60s and ’70s, the team’s rear-winged marvels won so many back-to-back Can-Am championships, they’re still considered the winningest competitors in series history.
In honor of this heritance, the world’s second-oldest racing team brought a storied lineup to the festival, including Fittipaldi’s M23, the 1988 MP4/4, the 1998 MP4-13, and the MP423, which claimed the world championship in 2008. We also caught a glimpse of the F1 GT3 ‘road car’ that famously left its purpose-built betters in the dust in the 1995 24 hours of Le Mans contest.
2014 McLaren P1
Folks at Goodwood were further treated to a live preview of ‘McLaren P1‘ – the long-awaited progeny of the legendary F1 road car of ’90s fame. Products of the ‘NASA of the car world,’ McLaren supercars are always dressed to impress and the featured P1 was no exception. Under the hood, the car is clearly an engineering prodigy, boasting a twenty-first century combination of McLaren’s Formula 1 secret sauce with state-of-the-art plug-in hybrid technology.
Clearly, even the most horsepower-obsessed carmakers are feeling the fuel economy squeeze. No matter; at just over 900 brake horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque, the supercar will have as much restraint as a rocket at liftoff. With a twin-turbo, nearly 4-liter V-8 paired with an electric motor designed in-house, the P1 will be a unique beast. Even the sensible electric components have been tweaked to enhance performance.
Britain’s most celebrated and mysterious auto maker put on a memorable show at the 2013 Festival of Speed. By the looks of the P1, we’re sure this masterpiece will be wildly fun to drive. The 2014 P1 will be a lovely addition to the list of the most impressive automobiles we’ve seen so far this century.