It's been nearly two years since McLaren->ke284 unveiled the bonkers P1->ke4608 supercar at the Geneva Motor Show,->ke228 and I already lost count of how many tracks this hybrid->ke147 monster has taken by storm as of February 2015. I do remember some cool videos of owners hooning their P1s at Laguna Seca->ke981 and Spa Francorchamps, but the P1 is now familiar with just about every race track the world over. Not that there's anything wrong with that. On the contrary, I love the way the P1's twin-turbo V-8 roars under full throttle and the way the P1 acts like a full-fledged race car->ke148 through the bends.
There is however, an instance when the P1 is as quiet as a Nissan Leaf.->ke3484 Yes, a supercar->ke177 can sneak up on you when it's in EV mode, a feat that's also available to the Ferrari LaFerrari->ke4626 and the Porsche 918 Spyder. But the P1 has never been put on a track in full-electric mode. At least not until recently, as a three-minute video showing the supercar lapping the Top Gear test track on battery power only displays.
As you might expect, the run was far from setting a new lap record, but it shows the P1 can be fast without making use of its outstanding V-8 powerplant. Unfortunately, the camera shows only the car's adjustable rear wing in the process, without the kind of footage we usually get with each Top Gear episode.