Here’s Why the McLaren W1 Has a Lower Top Speed Than the 33-Year-Old F1
It also has just under double the horsepower of the legendary '90s supercar, but McLaren says it's focused on a different kind of experience. The post Here’s Why the McLaren W1 Has a Lower Top Speed Than the 33-Year-Old F1 appeared first on The Drive.
McLaren’s new flagship, the W1, made its debut in 2024 with over twice the power as the F1 launched in 1992 and a lower top speed. It’s not faster than the P1, either. What gives? The company explained it put a bigger focus on engagement than on numbers during the development process.
Power for the W1 comes from a twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter V8 that works with an electric motor to develop 1,275 horsepower and 988 lb-ft of torque. Those figures make it one of the most powerful cars on the market, and at 3,084 pounds it’s relatively light for a hybrid hypercar. For context, the Ferrari F80—which is a follow-up to the LaFerrari—is powered by a 1,184-hp hybrid system and weighs 3,362 pounds.
Despite its impressive power-to-weight ratio, the W1 has an electronically-limited top speed of 217 mph. The P1, McLaren’s last hypercar, weighed 3,075 pounds, used a 903-hp hybrid drivetrain, and posted the same top speed. The 2,513-pound, 618-hp F1 topped out at 240 mph thanks to a 6.1-liter V12. It might look like McLaren hasn’t learned much about building a fast car over the past few years, but the brand explained top speed simply wasn’t a priority for the W1. Instead, it wanted to make its flagship fun to drive on the road as well as the track.
“Ultimate top speed—Top Trumps—is not a number that we’re chasing with this product,” said Alex Gibson, the W1’s vehicle line director, in an interview with Autocar. “Top Trumps” is a reference to a card game where the player who draws the card with the highest (or best) value wins the round. As a side note, Top Trumps included the F1 in one of its car-themed editions and managed to get many of the specifications wrong.
Gibson explained that building a car capable of reaching 250 or 280 mph requires making compromises that McLaren felt were unnecessary. He cited stiff tire sidewalls as an example: they help a car achieve a higher top speed, but they make it less comfortable to drive on a daily basis. And, despite the four-digit horsepower figure, most W1s will undoubtedly spend the bulk of their time on a public road rather than a race track.
How much faster could the W1 go if its top speed wasn’t limited? As it turns out, not a lot.
“It could push on a bit past [217 mph],” Marcus Waite, McLaren’s head of performance, told Autocar. He clarified that the speed limiter was set at 217 mph to keep the car relatively well-balanced. “It’s got so many roles to play: to be a car that can accelerate faster than a Speedtail, and that can be faster around a track than a Senna. We had to find a place that the car settled well,” he concluded.
McLaren instead focused on driver engagement, which unlike horsepower and top speed is hard to quantify. This explains why, unlike the F80, the W1 is rear-wheel drive. The company argues that all-wheel drive adds weight, which the car has to lug around even when it doesn’t need the extra traction, and compromises steering feel. Waite also noted that fitting a hydraulic power steering system wouldn’t have been possible if the W1 was equipped with a mechanical front axle or a front-mounted electric motor, and it sounds like electric power steering was ruled out.
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The post Here’s Why the McLaren W1 Has a Lower Top Speed Than the 33-Year-Old F1 appeared first on The Drive.
