McLaren hasn’t said much about the Speedtail lately,
but that’s changing today as CEO Mike Flewitt has confirmed the model will have
more than 987 hp. Speaking at a McLaren owner’s
event attended by Top Gear, Flewitt said the car will use a familiar engine
architecture. The publication believes this is a subtle hint that the model
will be powered by the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 that resides in 720S.
While the engine ‘only’ produces 710 hp in the Super Series variant, the Speedtail is a member of the Ultimate
Series and McLaren has already confirmed the car will have a petrol-electric
hybrid powertrain. Flewitt talked a little but more about the hybrid system
during the owner’s meeting and said the model will have use a “slightly
different hybrid application” than the P1.
Flewitt didn’t elaborate, but the P1 had a
twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 engine that produced 727 hp. It was
backed up by a lightweight electric motor that contributed an additional 176 hp. This gave the model a combined output of 903 hp and that means the Speedtail will have at least 84 hp more
than its predecessor.
In terms of performance, the P1 could accelerate
from 0-100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and 0-300 km/h in 16.5
seconds. At the time the car was launched, Flewitt said “Absolute top speed was
never the priority” so the model was limited to 350 km/h.
McLaren has previously said the Speedtail will be
capable of speeds exceeding 391 km/h but, once again, the model isn’t
focused on having a high top speed. As Flewitt explained to Top Gear, “We’re
not going for top speed for the sake of top speed.” The decision to focus on other
performance attributes could pay off in the long run as executive said the car
will be “super comfortable” and “super to drive.” Unlike other hypercars, which
are only fun for short jaunts, Flewitt said Speedtail owners will be able to
take the model on 2,000 mile (3,218 km) trips in relative comfort.
