The McLaren Senna, AKA McLaren P15, is finally here and – big surprise here – all 500 examples were spoken for. Well, that’s true except for one, chassis No. 193, which was recently sold at auction for a staggering $2.67 million. Considering the McLaren-set price of £750,000 (just over $1 million USD,) that’s some serious intake from the auction. The good news is that all of that isn’t going back to McLaren or one of the “assigned” owners of the Senna. Instead, the proceeds are being sent off to the Ayrton Senna Foundation, a foundation named after Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna da Silva that supports children in poor and developing countries.

Want to know more? Keep reading…

Every McLaren Senna Sold Benefits the Ayrton Senna Foundation

The world doesn’t need another supercar and yet here we are shaking in our boots over another one from McLaren. While it has a staggering MSRP and all examples are officially spoken for, there’s still something really special about the Senna. It, of course, didn’t come with the central driver layout as rumored (McLaren is probably saving that for the BP23,) but every single one of the 500 models created will also benefit the Ayrton Senna Foundation. There’s no word as to how much each will benefit the charity, but with such a hefty price tag you can assume they’ll send off a good chunk of change. So, as one of the wildest road-going cars in the world, it’s also one of the most positive, and that, my friends, isn’t something anyone can argue with.

McLaren Senna Specifications to Date

To date, very little is known about the McLaren Senna. It will be debuting in March at the Geneva Motor Show, so we’ll learn more at that time. Until then we have to settle for just a few facts. We know that the 4.0-liter, twin-turbo, V-8 delivers an astounding 789 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque (800 PS and 800 NM) while maintaining an ultralightweight composition thanks to lightweight internals and low inertia turbos with electronic wastegates. Now, we know that less than 800 ponies doesn’t seem like a lot of power for a supercar, but you have to keep in mind that this thing weighs less than a Honda Civic and is damn near on par with a Mazda MX-5 Miata, at just 2,641 pounds (1,198 kg.) We’re talking about a power-to-weight ratio of 658 pounds per ton, which should compute to some pretty extreme zero-to-60 times and an outrageous top speed as well.

Truth be told, the Senna is 100-percent deliberate. McLaren set out to turn a track car into a road goer and even went so far as to cut down daily drivability. Hell, you can’t even store anything outside of a pair of racing helmets and racing suits in this bad boy, yet, it’s still road legal – for now anyway. McLaren achieved such a low weight by keeping all body panels composed of carbon fiber. It also uses an evolution of the underpinning structure of the McLaren 720S, aptly named Monocage III. Even the aerodynamics were meticulously designed for the utmost perfect flow of air. The double diffuser in the rear creates extreme vacuum to such the Senna to the road, and the rear spoiler is adjusted constantly based on a number of factors, including speed and g-forces, among others. It even raises to act as an air brake during heavy braking. There’s no telling how fast this baby actually is, but stay tuned – we’ll be sure that you know as soon as we know!

References

McLaren Senna

Read more about the 2018 McLaren Senna.

Read more McLaren news.