Woking’s ‘most extreme road car ever’ dedicated to F1 legend
THE BOLDEST thing about McLaren’s
latest release, the first ‘Ultimate Series’
model since the hybrid P1, isn’t its
outrageous looks, the performance of
its 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 or its neck-
straining downforce – it’s the name.
It’s called the Senna, which is a bit like
Slazenger releasing a bat called the
Bradman or Wilson a racquet called
the Federer – you’re going to want it to
be really, really good.
As mentioned, outright performance
won’t be an issue, the M840T from
the 720S wicked up to 588kW/800Nm,
for which it gains an ‘R’ on the end of
its engine code (M840TR). It’s tasked
with pushing just 1198kg (dry), a drop
of 124kg over the 720S, for a startling
power-to-weight ratio of 491kW/
tonne, a figure that bests even the P
(464kW/tonne) by a serious amount.
No performance figures have
been claimed, but given the Senna’s
increased power, lighter weight
and greater traction we’d expect
0-100km/h to take a traction-limited
2.7-2.8sec and the quarter mile time to
be in the region of 10sec dead.
McLaren claims intake noise is
increased by the new roof-mounted
snorkel intake while unique engine
mounts and the Inconel and titanium
exhausts are intended to make it
“seem almost as if the V8 is sitting
alongside the driver”. A seven-speed
dual-clutch is the only available
transmission and the Senna remains
rear-wheel drive.
Shedding kilos from the Senna is
the revised carbon-fibre chassis –
dubbed Monocage III – while every
body panel is also made from the
lightweight black weave, as is the
engine’s intake plenum. As you’d
expect of a track-biased car, the
interior has been stripped to its bare
essentials, with an unadorned three-
spoke steering wheel and all driver
information is imparted by the folding
driver display.
Suspending the Senna is McLaren’s
trademark Active Chassis Control,
which uses double wishbones
at both ends with hydraulically
interconnected dampers to eradicate
the need for anti-roll bars, saving
weight and improving ride. For this
hardcore track car McLaren has
included a Race mode with a ground-
scraping ride height and super-stiff
damping rates to harness the power of
its active aerodynamics.
Key to the Senna’s racetrack ability
- as well as its challenging looks –
is its comprehensive aerodynamic
addenda. McLaren’s designers went
mad with the Stanley knife, slashing
vents and inlets into every possible
surface in an attempt to guide the air
to where it’s needed most in terms
of cooling or generating downforce,
while the towering rear wing is active,
constantly adjusting to optimise the
aerodynamic load.
While heavily focused on racetrack
ability, the Senna will still be road-
legal (in the UK at least) using Pirelli
P Zero Trofeo R tyres. Just 500
examples will be built at a cost of
AUD$1.33m (£750,000) each and all
500 have been pre-sold. – SN
Interior stripped
bare, but retains
both its Comfort
chassis and
powertrain settings
and air-con as a nod
to its road-legalityWhispers are
that the Senna
is a precursor to
McLaren’s return to
Le Mans to battle
the likes of Ford
and Ferrari in GTEd motorofficial f motor_mag^11