McLaren made headlines everywhere when it announced that part of its future business plan, “TRACK 22,” included the development of a pure electric vehicle for the Ultimate Series. The said vehicle would be positioned above the 675LT and below the crazy P1. That announcement came from McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt back in July of this year, and just a couple of months later, we’re sitting here looking at an all-electric McLaren P1. It doesn’t have the 300-mile range or a top speed of 200 mph as expected but, given the price and its compact nature, that’s no big deal at all.

See, this isn’t a car that you purchase, lock away in the garage, and take to the track on occasion. The most compact car ever built by McLaren is actually made for those without a driver’s license. More specifically, those around six years of age. Be that as it may, this thing is every bit a McLaren as it’s road- and track-going brethren. First off, it has a central driving position that can be traced back to the McLaren F1 and it has those awesome Dihedral doors.

But, that’s not all. This little supercar is the first ever open-top McLaren P1. As an official McLaren, it should come as no surprise that its performance is top notch. To put it simply, it can go from zero to maximum speed in just two seconds. Power is sent from the electric motors to the rear wheels via a three-speed forward transmission with reverse. Furthermore, there is an MP3 player and audio system as standard equipment that is pre-programmed with popular nursery rhymes. There’s a start/stop button that activates the lights and “air conditioning” unit, which is probably just a small fan, but cool nonetheless.

McLaren is calling this little EV The Ride On McLaren P1TM. It’s available in just one color, Volcano Yellow, and has a top speed of about three mph. It goes on sale at the end of October 2016 at selected McLaren retailers and will later be available from global toy retailers. Pricing is set at £375 or about $486 at current exchange rates.

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Why it matters

It’s pretty cool to see McLaren stepping into the toy industry a bit with the with this little electric supercar. It’s not exactly the all-electric McLaren we’ve all been dying to see, but it’s at least, in one way or another, a step in the right direction. If nothing else, it reinforces that idea that McLaren is seriously looking to electrification. Even though we won’t see a successor to the P1 probably won’t arrive until at least 2023, I have a feeling that we’ll see an all-electric McLaren much sooner – possibly even by 2020. And, until then, at least you can get joy out of watching your little one speed up and down the driveway in his all-electric McLaren

McLaren P1 Specs

Read our full review of the McLaren P1 here.