The McLaren Senna represents the pinnacle of McLaren engineering. It’s the result of the British automaker’s goal to build a more potent machine than the P1 hypercar without having to rely on the latter’s hybrid technology. McLaren achieved that goal when it turned it into a ground-breaking, lightweight supercar that defied even our highest of expectations. But as impressive as it was from a technical standpoint, the Senna still had to prove that its performance chops are as good as advertised. That opportunity finally came when the Senna did a top speed run at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds in Merritt Island, Florida. The results, as you might expect, came with a few surprises.

The McLaren Senna finally got the chance to showcase its performance worth, and it didn’t disappoint. The number itself is impressive, but it was four miles slower than McLaren’s advertised top speed of 208 mph. Still, if you factor in room for errors with complicated numbers like top speed, the Senna more than proved its worth as a bona fide supercar, it also showcased McLaren’s continued success in developing performance cars that are worth the hype they receive.

The Senna’s top speed run is more impressive when you consider where it was done. For those who aren’t familiar, the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds is one of the best places in the world to perform smooth top speed runs. It features a 3-mile concrete runway with an asphalt runoff of 1,000 feet at each end of the runway. There’s little elevation change, too, in the runway — only about a quarter of an inch — making it one of the smoothest — and most unimpeded — pieces of road that performance cars like the Senna can really stretch their legs.

Even with its posted top speed, an argument can be made that the Senna can still post a faster top speed run, or at least come closer to McLaren’s advertised top speed of 208 mph. Lower temperatures, for example, would improve the efficiency of the supercars turbochargers, which, in turn, could tack a few extra miles per hour to the Senna’s posted top speed. Such an occurrence is not without precedence. Last month, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS clocked a top speed of 211 mph at the JBPG. Impressive, right? It is, at the very least, in line with Porsche’s top speed claims of 211 mph. Well, the 911 GTRS returned a few weeks later to better weather conditions and reached a top speed of 219 mph, shattering Porsche’s own claims in the process.

So, the question begs: is the McLaren Senna faster than McLaren thinks? Its first top speed says “no,” but what if the Senna returns to Florida in better circumstances? Extending the top speed by four mph would be enough to reach McLaren’s claimed top speed, but don’t be surprised if it can hit a higher top speed than that. Either way, the Senna is equipped to send our jaws crashing to the floor. This is, after all, a car that recently went through a dyno test under the watchful eye of Hennessey to determine how much of McLaren’s claimed output from the supercar’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 engine — 789 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque — actually makes it to the wheels. The results ultimately came in, and the Senna actually put down 724.13 horsepower at 7,300 RPM. Even more telling, the Senna’s dyno run yielded torque numbers hitting 627.95 pound-feet at 5,430 rpm, a lot higher than McLaren’s factory rating of 590 pound-feet. Is this a case of McLaren being coy with the Senna’s actual power figures? We’ll probably find out more about it if the supercar returns to the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds and obliterates its own factory top speed mark.

We don’t know when that’s going to happen, but, hopefully, it happens sooner than later.

2019 McLaren Senna Drivetrain and Performance Comparison

McLaren Senna

McLaren 720S

McLaren P1

McLaren P1 Hybrid

Engine

4.0-liter V-8

4.0-litre twin-turbo V-8

3.8-litre twin-turbo V8

3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 plus electric motor

Horsepower

789 HP

710 HP @ 7,500 RPM

727 HP @ 7,500 RPM

Torque

590 LB-FT

568 LB-FT @ 5,500 RPM

531 LB-FT @ 4,000 RPM

Combined output

903 HP

Combined torque

1,100 LB-FT

Transmission

Dual-clutch, seven-speed transmission

7 Speed SSG

dual-clutch seven-speed gearbox

dual-clutch seven-speed gearbox

Weight

2,641 LBS

2,828 Lbs

3,075 Lbs

3,075 Lbs

0 to 60 mph

TBA

2.8 seconds

2.8 seconds

2.8 seconds

Top Speed

TBA

212 mph

217 mph

217 mph


Further reading

Read our full review on the 2019 McLaren Senna.

Read our full review on the 2019 McLaren Senna GTR.