It ain’t easy to make the McLaren P1 even more outrageous, but that’s exactly the trick the Woking brand pulled off with the Senna. Named after one of the most legendary Formula 1 drivers of all time, the Senna mates big power and aero with incredibly low weight, creating one helluva road car. Now, the very first example of this limited edition monster machine is officially out in the wild.

Continue reading for the full story.

The Full Story

This week, the very-first production example of the McLaren Senna, chassis number 001, was delivered to its owner. Taking the keys was David Kyte, a businessman out of London, who received the hypercar at the McLaren Technology Center in Woking. McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt and several other company execs were all on hand to oversee the handover.

After settling into his new performance machine, Kyte “immediately set out to enjoy his new purchase on a 1,400-km road trip.” To accompany him, Kyte enjoyed a caravan with five other McLaren models, including three other Sennas, a 720S, and a 600 LT.

Driving the other vehicles was Bruno Senna, the Brazilian racing driver and nephew of Ayrton Senna, as well as McLaren Automotive Chief Operating Officer Dr. Jens Ludmann, and McLaren Ultimate Series Vehicle Line Director Andy Palmer.

Together, the group drove to the Circuit Paul Ricard in the south of France. There, Kyte is getting geared up to participate in a McLaren driving experience set to take place this weekend.

“David Kyte is a longstanding McLaren enthusiast with a true passion for our brand and a number of McLarens to prove it,” said Flewitt. “We have had many conversations about the car he has now taken delivery of and while I believe that the McLaren Senna is already incredible in every respect, the additional work that David has commissioned from McLaren Special Operations has taken ‘Senna 001’ to another level.”

Details include an MSO Anniversary White exterior matched to a unique MSO Aurora Blue livery, as well as a roof intake, fuel filler cap, and T-Bar finished in MSO Satin Visual Carbon Fiber. The brakes come covered in MSO Bespoke Burton Blue, while the center lock wheel nuts are finished in Volcano Red. The front end also gets a special outline of the Interlagos circuit in São Paulo, Brazil, with the McLaren badge on the nose marking the start/finish line.

All told, the custom paint took 600 hours to complete, with the masking prep alone requiring two weeks of work.

Further details include Ayrton Senna’s signature added to the door sills, as well as engravings on the throttle pedal with the years he participated in the Formula One World Championship. There’s also plenty of black Alcantara upholstery, which is upgraded with red diamond contrast stitching and red Senna S logos in the headrests. The door struts are also done in red, while the carbon fiber surrounds are in red-tinted carbon fiber.

All told, we think this customized Senna looks awesome, and we love how it was actually driven on public roads, rather than immediately loaded into a trailer and stuffed into a garage. This is a car that’s meant to be enjoyed - get out there and enjoy it, Mr. Kyte!

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2019 McLaren Senna.

Read more McLaren news.