Y ou wait ages for a bona fide supercar to arrive and then two come along at once. Of course, unlike buses, generation-defining supercars usually come along once a decade. But in October the covers came off two vehicles from manufacturers who also happen to be locking horns on the Formula 1 circuit.
First, McLaren revealed a papaya orange-coloured supercar, which was christened W1. The 1 is the special number here, given that it’s a bloodline that stretches back to the legendary F1 of 1992, one of the finest sports cars, if not the finest sports car, ever made. If the figures are anything to go by, the W1 deserves to be part of the exclusive 1 family.
The statistics are staggering — 1,258bhp from a V8 twin-turbo with additional electric motor power takes the W1 to 62mph in just 2.7 seconds (124mph in 5.8 seconds on route to a 217mph top speed), all wrapped in a very light 1,399kg package.
How the car copes with such an enormous amount of power driven only through the rear wheels will be interesting, to say the least, but it may end up being this car’s greatest attribute..
