When it unveiled the Senna back in December 2017, McLaren omitted some of the supercar's performance facts. Needless to say, the Senna was downright spectacular even without those figures to run by, but McLaren just released a batch of new information that proves this supercar is as quick as it looks.

While many argue that the Senna isn't exactly pretty design-wise, its controversial appearance is a modern embodiment of the "form follows function" concept. Radical aerodynamics rarely go hand in hand with appealing styling cues and McLaren decided to completely sacrifice the latter for the sake of performance. It might be ugly, but that carbon-fiber shell helps it generate a whopping 800 kg (almost 1,764 pounds) of downforce at 155 mph. That's 200 kg (441 pounds) more than the McLaren P1 at the same speed.

But what about acceleration? The Senna needs 2.7 seconds to hit 60 mph from a standing start, a tenth-second quicker than the P1. The sprint to 124 mph takes 6.8 clicks, a full second quicker than the awesome 720S. The quarter-mile time is equally impressive at 9.9 seconds, while stopping from 124 mph takes only 100 meters (328 feet). Top speed is rated at "only" 211 mph, six mph below the P1, but that's a small sacrifice given the Senna's outstanding cornering abilities.

According to McLaren, the Senna is unstoppable at the track when used in race mode. The revise RaceActive Chassis Control suspension not only enables the driver to brake and turn into corners later, but also hit the gas pedal earlier than in a P1. That's due to the extra available downforce and the balanced aerodynamics.

The design language of the McLaren Senna is extremely aggressive and different from any previous McLaren – because no other road-legal McLaren has had to fulfill such an uncompromising brief,” explained Rob Melville, Design Director, McLaren Automotive. ”When you see the car for the first time, you know instantly how single-minded and focused it is; to meet the performance targets we have had to go to an entirely different level from even the McLaren P1.”

It's all true, and it looks as if Ayrton Senna himself helped design it.

References

McLaren Senna

Read our full review on the 2019 McLaren Senna.

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