Arriving in the wake of McLaren’s victory in the 2025 Formula One world championship, the marque’s new supercar is its third to bear the “1” moniker. There was the F1 in 1992, the P1 in 2013, which added electric power to boost performance, and now, pushing that hybrid technology further, the V8-engined W1 (around £2mn) that accelerates from 0-62mph in 2.7 seconds.
The W1 on the ultra-high speed Mugello circuit in Italy
The car produces 1,258bhp, is electronically capped at a top speed of 217mph and every aspect of its design seems focused on allowing it to go as fast as the laws of physics will allow. Airflow and downforce are visibly more important than sculpture or style. Like the P1, the W1’s most dramatic feature is its large rear wing that flexes, trims and extends depending on the car’s setting. In Race mode, it moves back 300mm to create more downforce, visually referencing the legendary 1997 McLaren F1 GTR “Longtail” in the process. Rising from the car’s underside is a huge diffuser that dominates the rear, cutting into the wheel arches. It’s the same at the front. Opening up the roof-hinged gullwing (or as McLaren terms them, “Anhedral”) doors exposes most of the front wheel, allowing you to peek at the Formula One-car-inspired front suspension, which is 3D printed in the “relentless pursuit of light weight”.
