Geneva 2018: McLaren Senna GTR Concept

Peter Anderson

Mar 7, 2018 — 3 min read

Meet the Senna GTR, the car we didn’t think McLaren was going to build. Officially billed as a concept car, the GTR is a trackday special for those with deep pockets and a need for hyper speed.

Senna GTR

For a roadgoing track car, the Senna had no racing version. The heritage isn’t a problem of course – McLaren and Senna are two names that belong together. But Senna is about racing and the GTR follows in the tyre tracks of the mighty P1 GTR.

Based on the road going machine, the GTR’s power figure is up by “at least” 18kW (25PS) to 607kW (825PS). One imagines torque will also rise by a similar amount, but McLaren is keeping quiet on the full details. There is a race-style gearbox, though, so that probably means fast, brutal shifts.

McLaren has also fitted revised double wishbone suspension and Pirelli slicks. Based on the Monocage III, weight is unlikely to be hugely different, but expect a handy loss.

McLaren won’t make a loss, though – just 75 GTRs will roll down the line in 2019 and they will be hugely expensive – a carbon MSO version is £1,050,000, so expect similar pricing. McLaren is now taking “expressions of interest”, which excludes all but the wealthiest customers.

Aerodynamics

For a track machine, you want downforce and the Senna GTR delivers. The wild aero on the GTR means 1000kg of downforce. The front and rear quarter panels are new, you can see a bit of F1-style Coke bottle nip and tuck. Those panels are also removable to make working on the Senna GTR easier.

The front splitter is huge, a big poked-out tongue that sits just off the road ready to claim unwary ankles. Like the road car, there’s no front boot but air comes through the front splitter, through the radiators and up over the roof.

That’s when it meets the completely bananas rear wing. More than a little reminiscent of the P1’s rear, the fixed wing looks better than the road car’s. Beneath that wing is a simplified light cluster and down below is a gigantic diffuser.

It’s wild, no doubt raw and McLaren reckons the best McLaren ever. It’s also the fastest non-F1 McLaren, but we’re not exactly sure what that means. Neither is McLaren, probably – the company admits it’s not yet finished.

Want more McLaren Senna goodness? Check out our Eight Cool Things About the McLaren Senna video

https://youtu.be/6V-5J72hA2A