McLaren’s next Ultimate Series model will be an open-cockpit speedster focused on on-road driving thrills rather than track usage, making it also the first dedicated topless road car the brand has ever offered.
Quoting a source with knowledge of the project, Autocar reports that the new limited-production hypercar will join the Speedtail hyper-GT and the track-focused Senna in McLaren’s ‘Ultimate Series’ range, designed to highlight the more fun side to the brand.
The design of the upcoming McLaren speedster will evoke open-top prototype race cars of the past, much like what Ferrari did with the Monza SP1 and SP2 Speedster specials.
Unlike the razor-sharp looks of the Senna, the new McLaren speedster will feature a bodywork with more ‘fluid’, elegant lines, a theme that will continue inside the vehicle as well. Meanwhile, a set of low-profile dihedral butterfly doors will of course be present.
Power will reportedly come from McLaren’s twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine alone and not a hybrid powertrain like the one in the Speedtail. The unit will be paired most likely to the company’s dual-clutch transmission.
Given that the model will be focused towards road use, the engine output is expected to be similar or slightly reduced from the 789hp (800PS) it makes in the Senna. However, the new McLaren speedster is said to weigh less than the previously mentioned track-focused 1,198kg (2,641lbs) hypercar.
McLaren will limit the production run of its upcoming open-top hypercar, which is expected to enter production in late 2020 or early 2021, once the final examples of the Senna GTR come out of the factory.