The new 'Ultimate Series' McLaren is the company's fastest and most extreme car ever

I’m standing next to what can only be described as a 720S subjected to a state-sponsored doping programme. It’s swapped beautiful for brutal and soft undulations for jagged voids. Your eyes flit around it, not knowing where to land or what to investigate first. This is what happens when you let engineers, not stylists, design a car.

Up until this point, we’ve known it only by its P15 codename - the second instalment of McLaren’s Ultimate Series, five years after the P1 rearranged our understanding of the natural world. Now it has a name – the McLaren Senna. Bold move, right, naming it after arguably the world’s greatest racing driver? But when you learn that Bruno Senna, Aryton’s nephew, has been involved in the development, and its mission statement is to be the company’s most focused and effective track car ever, it fits.

“The brief was quite clear on this car, to make it as fast as we can around a track, but still road legal. It’s our fastest car, comparable to a P1 around a lap.” That’s Andy Palmer, line director for the Ultimate Series. “The P1 was very much a road car, but focused for the track, while the BP23 will be a hyper GT, it will take three passengers and luggage over great distances and at incredible speeds. It’s all about straight line performance.”

Ah yes, the BP23. Just to recap, that’s the third member of the Ultimate Series, the one we’ll see this time next year, the hybrid one with three seats and a revival of the McLaren F1’s central driving position, the one that’ll cost £1.6m plus taxes. Every one of the 106 examples are already sold out. It’s important to note that neither of these cars, the Senna or BP23, are direct replacements for the P1. They both share the P1’s uncompromising philosophy and appetite for speed of course, but fork off in quite different directions. A more obvious replacement for the P1 will come, we’re told, but not for another five years at least.

Back to the Senna and first things first, it is not a hybrid. You’ll find no battery ballast or e-motors here, just a development of the 720S’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 wound up to 789bhp and producing 590lb ft of torque, channelled through McLaren’s trusty seven-speed twin-clutch ‘box. These are numbers that are no longer startling in the world of 1,400bhp+ hypercars, but when you combine that figure with the Senna’s obsessive focus on weight and downforce, its potency grows.

McLaren claims a dry weight of 1,198kg, 85kg less than the 720S despite packing 79bhp more. That’s 553bhp-per-tonne for the 720S versus 659bhp-per-tonne for the Senna – quite some leap. Unfortunately, McLaren hasn’t released performance figures for the Senna yet, but let’s break out the calculator and do the maths ourselves. Considering the 1,395kg, 903bhp P1 has a power to weight ratio of 647bhp-per-tonne, but the Senna has more downforce, we’ll assume acceleration figures will be roughly similar. So we’re talking 0-62mph in 2.8secs, 0-124mph in 6.8secs, 0-186mph in 16.5secs and a standing quarter mile in 9.8secs at 152mph. Or thereabouts. In terms of lap time our money’s on the Senna, with 197kg less to carry around and the latest tyre and brake technology to call upon.

Turns out there’s quite a lot going on under those arches. Bespoke Pirelli P Zeroes (or Trofeos as a no-cost option), McLaren’s first centre-locking lightweight wheels and a new breed of carbon ceramic brake discs known as CCM-R. Because the material is four-times more thermally efficient than previous carbon ceramics, they’re actually smaller and therefore lighter. One slight catch: each disc takes seven months of layering and curing to produce. There’s also the latest generation of McLaren’s RaceActive Chassis Control II hydraulic suspension, that does away with mechanical anti-roll bars thanks to interconnected dampers, and slams the car 50mm closer to the tarmac in Race mode, tucking the wheels efficiently behind the arches.

It’s the aero that sets this car apart. Again, no downforce figures yet, but I’m prepared to stick my neck out here: it should surpass the P1 GTR. That hulk of a rear wing works actively and in tandem with moving flaps in the front intakes – tilting to dial up the downforce, or flattening to bleed it off, depending on steering, brake and throttle position, and speed. From the very front of the car you can follow the path of air particles as they’re sucked and smoothed and spat out by the bodywork not just to keep you pinned to the track, but to cool the engine pumping out heat behind your head.

That roof snorkel looks mean, but has been tuned so the sound of air rushing in and mixing in the plenum takes care of the high frequencies, while the low notes are provided by the engine via unique mounts that purposefully vibrate the carbon-fibre tub. On top of that the extraordinary triple-exit titanium and inconel exhaust, positioned to keep the hot gases away from the wing, delivers sheer volume to match the violent design.

At the very back the trailing edge is 18mm lower than a 720S, to keep the air attached as long as possible, while a double-decker diffuser made from a single piece of carbon is a thing of intricate beauty to behold. And makes the Senna a bugger to parallel park. Those pylon mounts for the wing aren’t just for car park points either, it leaves the underside of the wing’s surface clear so every square centimetre can pull its weight.

To the interior via dihedral doors that take chunks of the roof with them, like the 720S. Unlike the 720S, the door release is moved to a panel above your head (along with the starter button and Race mode selector) and there’s a second glazed panel by your knees, so you can stare at the road rushing past when you should be concentrating on where you’re going. The seats are thin layers of carbon with foam sandwiched in the middle, then leather or Alcantara pads are placed strategically on top. Hit the Christmas pudding a little hard? Not to worry, McLaren will custom fit the seat to each customer.

Slide the driver’s seat back and forth and a panel housing the gear selector, launch control and hazard lights slides with you, while the 720S’ retracting instrument panel is carried over unscathed. Behind your head is a glass window separating you from the engine and in front of the that the sum total of the luggage space. “It’s enough for two helmets, a couple of race suits and possibly a sandwich,” Palmer tells us with a grin.

And no wonder he’s smiling. Starting from the second half of 2018, just 500 Sennas will be built (125 more than the P1) costing £750,000 each. And it’s already sold out – a sign of how strong McLaren’s customer base now is. “We’re constantly looking forward, for new technologies, new materials, less weight, more power,” says Palmer. “But most of all we want a car to be engaging and put a smile on your face. That’s why customers want them.”

Not sure about the looks? You can’t argue with the sentiment

McLaren will build 500 examples of its track-focused Senna hypercar, of which 499 are apparently already spoken for. The final car was reserved for a private auction where it’s raised £2m for charity.

When a ‘standard’ Senna is priced at £750,000, paying almost three times that might seem a tad over-the-top, but for a cause like this, it’s worth every penny. The sale of the new McLaren Ultimate Series model raised £2 million for the Ayrton Senna Institute, which supports underprivileged children and youngsters in Brazil. Ayrton’s sister Vivianne and her son and McLaren ambassador Bruno Senna were present to see the gavel fall.

That ought to give the new owner a warm, fuzzy feeling inside for a brief moment, before their blood runs cold at the prospect of taming a 789bhp bi-turbo V8 pushing along a sub-1,200kg hypercar with the most extreme aero of any product yet from Woking. It’s a senior bit of kit, the Senna. But this one’s done a lot of good for some unfortunate people, for which we salute you, McLaren.

Want more details on McLaren’s son-of-P1? Click here to check out Top Gear’s video walkaround, and read the full debrief on the wildest McLaren ever built, here.

The McLaren Senna: the ultimate road-legal track car

• New Ultimate Series is the most extreme McLaren road car yet
• Bears the name of legendary Formula 1 driver, Ayrton Senna, honouring its status as the ultimate McLaren track car, legalised for the road
• At 1,198kg (2,641lbs), the lightest McLaren road car since the iconic McLaren F1
• 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 is the most powerful McLaren road car internal combustion engine ever, with 800PS (789bhp) and 800Nm (590 lb ft)
• Power-to-weight ratio of 668PS-per-tonne delivers savage performance
• The purest connection between driver and car of any road-legal McLaren
• Aggressive appearance epitomises ‘form-follows-function’ McLaren design philosophy
• Mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive chassis – the optimum configuration for dynamic excellence
• Priced at £750,000 including taxes (UK)
• Production limited to 500 units, all hand-assembled at the McLaren Production Centre in Woking, Surrey, England from Q3 2018

“You commit yourself to such a level where there is no compromise. You give everything you have; everything, absolutely everything.”
Ayrton Senna

The McLaren Senna has been designed, engineered and developed with single-minded purpose: to be the ultimate McLaren track-concentrated car for the road. Legalised for road use, but not sanitised to suit it, the new Ultimate Series deliberately compromises McLaren’s trademark breadth of supercar daily usability; instead it provides the purest connection between driver and car, to deliver the most intense circuit experience of any road McLaren.

The technical recipe is classic McLaren Automotive supercar, a pedigree established and earned in the short time elapsed since the pioneering sports and supercar company was founded in 2010, but taken to another level entirely in the McLaren Senna. Ultra-lightweight construction, with carbon fibre chassis and body panels. Mid-mounted, twin-turbocharged V8 McLaren engine. Rear wheel drive. Sophisticated race-derived suspension that delivers an unparalleled blend of control and dynamic balance. Electro-hydraulic steering that rewards accurate inputs and gives the purest feedback. And two seats – but with absolute focus on the importance of the one that the driver occupies.

The carbon fibre Monocage III chassis that forms the core of the McLaren Senna is a further development of the structure that underpins the McLaren 720S and the strongest monocoque ever built by McLaren for a road-legal vehicle. Every body panel is made from carbon fibre, in line with a relentless focus on the weight of every individual component that has resulted in the McLaren Senna being the lightest road-legal McLaren since the iconic F1 road car, at just 1,198kg*.

With maximum power of 800PS (789bhp), the McLaren Senna enjoys a power-to-weight ratio of 668PS per tonne. This statistic immediately underlines the performance credentials of the newcomer to the McLaren Ultimate Series, a product family introduced with the McLaren P1™ that is reserved for the rarest and most extreme McLaren cars.

Unsurprisingly, there are strong echoes in the new McLaren Senna of the incredibly focused philosophy behind the McLaren P1™; where the latter was designed to be the best driver’s car on road and track, the ambition for the McLaren Senna is for it to be the best road-legal track car, setting a new benchmark for circuit excellence with track prowess absolutely taking precedence.

“The McLaren Senna is a car like no other: the personification of McLaren’s motorsport DNA, legalised 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.”
Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive

Given the famous name that this new McLaren bears, its unrivalled extreme performance and dynamic excellence should be no surprise. The legendary Formula 1 racing driver was renowned for his exceptional powers of concentration and single-minded focus on being the best on the track. The McLaren Senna driver is hardwired into the dynamic experience the car delivers. Their connection to the car comes through the steering wheel, the pedals and the seat. Every sensation that comes from driving at speed is precisely communicated, putting the driver in total control.

The indomitable spirit of Ayrton Senna has always been alive at McLaren and the McLaren Senna will further amplify his global legacy and link to the McLaren brand.

“Our family is extremely proud of the naming of the new Ultimate Series McLaren Senna. This is the first project that really connects with Ayrton’s racing spirit and performance. The McLaren Senna honours my uncle because it is so utterly dedicated to delivering a circuit experience that allows a driver to be the best they can possibly be. There is an absolute, seamless connection between car and driver and this pure engagement, these sensory cues that a driver responds to and relies upon, ensure an experience so focused and immersive that you are left in awe of the depths of excellence the McLaren Senna possesses.”
Bruno Senna, racing driver and McLaren Ambassador

Visually, the McLaren Senna shocks. The first impression is of an aggressive, unforgiving machine, organic shapes having given way to a design language that is purposely fragmented in pursuit of absolute performance. With downforce and aerodynamic balance the guiding principles, this car is the purest expression yet of the ‘form follows function’ design philosophy embraced by McLaren.

Viewed from above, the body is nature’s most efficient shape – a teardrop – with body components ‘clipped’ onto the cabin to deliver optimal aerodynamic performance. McLaren’s designers went to extremes by cutting open the ‘shrink-wrapped’ body to reduce weight visually and functionally; while recognisably a McLaren in proportional terms, you cannot follow a single line from the front to the rear without it passing through a functional air intake or vent.

The McLaren Senna introduces a new generation of ground-breaking front and rear active aerodynamics, raising downforce and aero control to an unprecedented level to ensure the performance potential can be fully exploited. Every element of the body design, from the front splitter to the double diffuser at the rear, has been developed to optimise downforce and aerodynamic balance, whether under braking, adjusting the throttle mid corner, or applying power on corner exit. There is also an opportunity for added visual drama, with the front aero blades available finished in one of five ‘By McLaren’ theme specifications that include Azura Blue and McLaren Orange. The same linked accent colour can also feature on the brake calipers, visible door gas struts and seat trims.

Cooling requirements played an equally crucial role in the overall design of the McLaren Senna: the rear clamshell, for example, was born from the twin demands of aerodynamic and cooling performance, with 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, with the louvres ensuring that the airflow does not impact the efficiency of the rear wing. The ‘slash cut’ finishers of the unique Inconel and titanium exhaust exit through the lowest rear deck (measured at the trailing edge) of any McLaren road car, the angle of the pipes directing exhaust gas away from the rear wing. The slim, rear LED taillights have been subject to the same exacting attention to detail as the headlights and every other aero-relevant component, the single-blade design minimising interruptions to airflow.

The double diffuser at the rear of the car is unmistakable. Created as a single piece of carbon fibre, it begins under the rear axle and as it increases in height accelerates air out from under the vehicle. This creates a low-pressure zone that sucks the McLaren Senna even tighter to the ground. Equally unmissable is a huge, double-element carbon fibre rear wing that at its highest point sits 1,219mm from the road when the car is stationary. Hydraulically actuated and with a planform surface area of more than 6,500cm2, the wing constantly adjusts to optimise the levels of downforce and aerodynamic balance and functions as an airbrake under heavy braking.

The depths of connection with the new Ultimate Series car will be experienced in full once in the driver’s seat and on a circuit, but the intimate relationship with the McLaren Senna begins before that, simply by entering the car. McLaren F1-inspired dihedral doors hinge forwards and upwards, opening with a portion of the roof to expose noticeably low sills and an aperture of sufficient size for drivers or passengers to easily enter or leave the cockpit, even when wearing a helmet and a race suit.

The doors, which are constructed of carbon fibre, feature two-piece glass side windows with a fixed top part and a smaller opening section below. Both the door upper (effectively part of the roof) and the lower half of the door side can be specified with glass as a replacement for the carbon fibre panels that are standard-fit. This enhances the sense of space inside the cockpit and in the case of the glazed door lower, dramatically reinforces the visual connection between driver and track environment. To accommodate the door design, the release mechanisms and window switches are housed alongside the engine start button in a carbon fibre console above the driver’s head.

The cockpit environment reflects the stripped-back, functional nature that is evident in every aspect of the McLaren Senna. Visual carbon fibre is used extensively. Dependent on customer preference, Alcantara® or leather covers the seats, facia and side airbags, but the absence of any other interior trim both saves weight and reveals the construction of the doors. Even the gas struts are exposed to save vital grams.

Driver controls have been deliberately kept to a minimum to reduce ‘cockpit clutter’ and the three-spoke steering wheel is free of buttons and switches, creating a pure focus on sensory feedback. All the information the driver needs comes from the high-definition McLaren Folding Driver Display and central infotainment screen. And while McLaren designers stopped short of removing the second seat altogether, there is no contingency for excess baggage; storage space is restricted to a chamber behind the seats integral to the Monocage III with just enough room for two helmets and race suits.

Codenamed M840TR, the 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine at the heart of the McLaren Senna is the most powerful road car internal combustion engine ever created by McLaren, producing 800PS (789bhp) and torque of 800Nm (590 lb ft). The engine’s dry sump lubrication and flat-plane crankshaft are technologies with their roots in motorsport. Lightweight internal components reduce mass in the powertrain and combine with ultra-low inertia, twin-scroll turbochargers and electronically controlled wastegates to deliver lightning-quick throttle responsiveness.

From the outset of the programme, McLaren engineers determined that the full mechanical symphony of the engine – from intake to combustion to exhaust – had to be central to the sensory experience. Those fortunate enough to drive the McLaren Senna will feel the cockpit come alive with the sound of air rushing into the roof-mounted ‘snorkel’ intake and mixing in the carbon fibre plenum, producing precisely tailored high-frequency sounds that deliver a vivid experience. At the same time, low-frequency sounds from the engine are transferred into the cockpit through unique engine mounts, exciting the double-walled rear structure of the carbon fibre Monocage and amplifying every change in engine revs, making it seem almost as if the V8 is sitting alongside the driver.

A dual-clutch, seamless-shift, seven-speed gearbox delivers power to the rear wheels. A fully automatic mode is the default, with the driver able to choose full manual control of gear shifts via paddles mounted on a rocker behind the steering wheel. The elongated carbon fibre paddles are optimised to be used both with or without racing gloves, and create a deep sense of mechanical connection with the McLaren Senna.

The character of the 4.0-litre twin-turbo McLaren V8 and the transmission can be tailored using the Active Dynamics Panel, with the driver having a choice of Comfort, Sport or Track powertrain modes. Whatever the mode, performance is suitably savage. Throttle response is immediate and neck-snapping, pinning the driver back into their seat.

“The McLaren Senna delivers true performance, all the way to the limit of a driver’s ability. With a truly astonishing power-to-weight ratio, this car is about performance that is accessible and attainable, yet at the same time exciting and challenging for the very best drivers in the world – and with an intense, sensory experience to match.”
Andy Palmer, Vehicle Line Director, McLaren Ultimate Series

RaceActive Chassis Control II (RCC II) hydraulic suspension works in harmony with front and rear active aerodynamics and the ultra-rigid Monocage III to deliver an incredibly intensive experience on a circuit. Every element of the McLaren Senna has been designed to maximise the connection between driver and car, at all speeds and in every situation. Painstaking work on the damping and steering weight has ensured that the car feels fully ‘alive’ well below its upper limits; even when the suspension is not fully loaded and tyres not absolutely compressed, the rich texture of communication blends with the feedback transmitted to the driver as aero levels and cornering speeds build.

RCC II is a double-wishbone suspension system that additionally features hydraulically interconnected dampers and a hydraulic replacement for conventional mechanical anti-roll bars. It also further develops the variable stiffness and ride height technology first seen in the pioneering hydraulic system in the McLaren P1™.

The adaptive dampers are interconnected hydraulically, both left to right and front to back, with two valves per damper to independently adjust for compression and rebound. The stiffness of the McLaren Senna is separately controlled using a kinetic roll system, or K-damper. The continuously variable RCC II system advances the control strategy introduced on the McLaren 720S and also adds a Race mode, which introduces a lower ride height, lower centre of gravity and significantly stiffer suspension.

Dynamic parameters are adjusted by the driver through the Active Dynamics Panel located on the centre console to select Comfort, Sport or Track modes or via a switch in a roof-mounted panel to access Race mode.

The braking system of the McLaren Senna is the most advanced ever fitted to a McLaren road car, using carbon ceramic discs and motorsport technologies to deliver extreme performance. Tyre choice is equally focused, with bespoke Pirelli P Zero™ Trofeo R tyres developed in conjunction with McLaren technical partner, Pirelli. Designed for race tracks but approved for road use, they enable a McLaren Senna to be driven to a circuit. Only one style of wheel is available: an ultra-lightweight alloy wheel with a race-inspired centre lock system.

The third model introduced under the McLaren Track22 business plan, the McLaren Senna will be hand-assembled in England at the McLaren Production Centre. Production will be limited to 500 vehicles, each costing from £750,000 including taxes (UK price) and all already allocated.

Want your 789bhp road-legal track toy in gloss weave finish? Send cheques to MSO

The McLaren Senna costs £750,000, and they’re all sold. But they’re not all going to cost £750,000, because McLaren Special Operations has begun wheeling out the options you can throw at the new Ultimate Series supercar.

Chief among them is the Carbon Theme. This showcases the Senna’s carbon panels in an immaculate carbon weave. There are 67 pieces in all, which take 1,000 hours to produce. Even the yellow detailing on the car shown takes 250 hours to apply. Eagle-eyed F1 fans will note this yellow and green scheme is inspired by Ayrton Senna’s iconic helmet livery.

As you’d expect, this sort of fastidious attention to detail does not come cheaply. McLaren warns: “Cars commissioned from McLaren Special Operations will take considerably longer to build and carry a financial premium. The bespoke personalisation carried out on the McLaren Senna Carbon Theme by MSO, for example, adds a little under £300,000 to the price.”

So, this is a £1million Senna. And MSO hasn’t finished with the options yet.

Should you want your lightweighting taken to extremes, you’ll soon have the choice of carbon fibre wheels, instead of the already featherweight forged rims. McLaren says the front wheel weighs 7.5kg without a tyre – up to ten per cent less than the standard wheel. Not a massive saving by any means, but very appropriate for the most extreme machine ever dreamt up by McLaren Automotive.

We’ll be seeing the McLaren Senna Carbon Theme at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show next week. McLaren has also promised a ‘surprise announcement’. Anyone care to venture a guess?

(Once you’ve finished ogling or retching at the car…)

Holy ****: McLaren gives the Senna more power, grip and focus with the track-only GTR

We’ve not yet fully digested the bonkers stats of the McLaren Senna. Yet here to scramble our brains further is a bonkers, track-only version. Meet the McLaren Senna GTR.

“The track-only McLaren Senna GTR will have more power, more grip and more downforce – up to 1,000kg – than the McLaren Senna and post even faster lap times,” says McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt. “The very limited number of customers who secure this car will be buying the closest experience you can get to a race car without actually lining up on a circuit grid.”

How much more power? It appears McLaren hasn’t actually decided yet. It’ll get the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 as the road-legal Senna (itself still a very track-focused car, mind). As standard, it produces 789bhp, or 800PS. McLaren tells us to expect “at least 825PS” from the GTR. Which rather makes us expect it’ll make even more.

We’re told the Senna GTR will weigh about the same as the 1,198kg Senna, though. Big spec changes over standard include revised suspension, slick Pirelli tyres and a ‘race-style’ transmission. The standard gearbox is hardly a slushy CVT, so expect gearchanges in the GTR to be borderline violent. The standard Senna is described as ‘legalised for road use, but not sanitised to suit it’. The GTR hardly had a run-of-the-mill motorcar as its starting point.Which brings us to the looks. They’ve been the most controversial element of the Senna, the wild commitment to aerodynamics perhaps damaging its aesthetics. The GTR naturally takes this approach to the nth degree, though we’d argue it’s a better-looking car as a result. By really committing to circuit performance, it looks like a very marginally sanitised racecar. McLaren’s even left the numbers on this one.

The end result? We’re promised the fastest ever McLaren lap times outside of Formula 1. Crueller commenters might suggest, after recent years, that’s not too difficult. But be under no illusion this thing is going to be berserk if you get the chance to uncork it on a quick circuit. Though not necessarily scary; the McLaren P1 GTR was a surprisingly friendly thing to drive, and we suspect the same could be true here.

All 500 road-legal Sennas very quickly sold out; we imagine McLaren will have no problem selling the ‘up to 75’ Senna GTRs it’s going to sell at £1million before taxes. Would you? Does the GTR suddenly make sense of the Senna’s looks and focus?

McLaren Senna weaves its magic in Geneva with Visual Carbon Fibre-bodied ‘Carbon Theme’ from McLaren Special Operations

• New ultimate McLaren road-legal track car makes its public debut next week at the 88th Geneva International Motor Show
• ‘Carbon Theme’ bespoke project by McLaren Special Operations (MSO) combines gloss Visual Carbon Fibre body with Carbon Black Alcantara ® interior trim to striking effect
• Solar Yellow and Laurel Green detailing echoes the helmet livery of Ayrton Senna, legendary Brazilian Formula 1 driver and three-time World Champion at the wheel of a McLaren
• New ultra-lightweight MSO 7-Spoke Hybrid Carbon Fibre Wheels will be available to order soon as a retailer-fit option
• McLaren Automotive press conference at 10:45 CET on Tuesday March 6 in Geneva promises an additional surprise

The new McLaren Senna is set to raise heartrates at the 88th Geneva Motor Show as it bares all to appear in Visual Carbon Fibre. The McLaren Senna Carbon Theme by McLaren Special Operations (MSO) is one of five themes* developed by MSO for a car that has been the centre of attention since the first images were released in December.

The Visual Carbon Fibre exterior is the most obvious individual feature of the McLaren Senna Carbon Theme by MSO. Comprising 67 parts, the full body set takes almost 1,000 hours to produce. Solar Yellow detailing on the sill exteriors, rear wing and front active aero blades – a process that accounted for almost 250 hours of MSO time – combines with Laurel Green brake calipers in recognition of the helmet colours of the legendary Brazilian Formula 1 racing driver.

The colours are carried through to the interior of the car, with the door gas strut in Laurel Green and the contrast stitching on the Carbon Black Alcantara® trim on seats, door inners and facia. The steering wheel also has a leather centre band in a similar yellow hue.

Both seats feature a Senna ‘S’ on the headrest and the same detail is repeated in satin finish Visual Carbon Fibre on the end plates of the rear wing, a result achieved using a highly specialised process that sees each matt-finished logo embedded into the gloss carbon fibre panel. One of the front fenders proudly displays the Senna brand.

“The McLaren Senna customers in the process of specifying their own, personalised cars are almost without exception commissioning an elevated level of MSO content, so we are definitely appealing to our target audience,” explained Ansar Ali, Managing Director, McLaren Special Operations. “With the car having generated so much interest since its unveiling in December, we knew we needed to produce something very special in order to showcase the unique talents of McLaren Special Operations; the McLaren Senna Carbon Theme by MSO at the Geneva Motor Show is exactly the kind of project we thrive on delivering and once customers have had the opportunity to view it in person, I would not be at all surprised to see a rise in expressions of interest for MSO Visual Carbon Fibre cars similar to this one.”

McLaren Special Operations is also taking the opportunity to introduce a new McLaren Senna wheel option in Geneva. The standard wheel is available in three finishes, but the new MSO 7-Spoke, Hybrid Carbon Fibre Wheel is the only alternative design available from McLaren for the car. The centre-lock wheel is a forged aluminium/carbon fibre rim component that at 7.5kg (front wheel) without a tyre fitted, is up to 10 per cent lighter than the standard-fit wheel.

Benefitting dynamic performance by reducing unsprung weight, the carbon fibre hybrid wheels offer a 10-15 per cent reduction in rotating inertia, improving acceleration, braking and steering responses.

The MSO 7-Spoke Hybrid Carbon Fibre Wheel, which also offers McLaren Senna customers a further opportunity to personalise their purchase, is a retailer-fit only option that will be available to order soon in either Diamond Cut or Stealth finish. The Memphis Red and Vega Blue satin finish centre lock wheel nuts fitted to respectively the left- and right-hand sides of the McLaren Senna Carbon Theme car are available now to MSO Bespoke order.

Legalised for road use, but not sanitised to suit it, the new McLaren Senna was designed and developed from the outset to excel on a circuit and as a result has an uncompromised performance focus that is reflected in its appearance. The aggressive looks are the strongest expression yet of McLaren’s ‘form follows function’ philosophy and McLaren Special Operations is already seeing significant interest from McLaren Senna buyers wanting to make their cars even more distinctive.

Just 500 examples of the McLaren Senna will be produced and all are already assigned. Each vehicle is priced at £750,000 and will be hand-assembled by specialists at the McLaren Production Centre in Woking, Surrey, England, in a process taking close to 300 hours. Cars commissioned from McLaren Special Operations will take considerably longer to build and carry a financial premium; the bespoke personalisation carried out on the McLaren Senna Carbon Theme by MSO, for example, adds a little under £300,000 to the price.