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McLaren Senna First Look
MotorTrend
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10/4/2023
Motor Trend's Angus Mackenzie gets a first look at the McLaren Senna. With claims of being the fastest street legal car
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Motor
Transcript
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00:00
This is the McLaren Senna and it's been designed with one purpose in mind, to be one of the
00:09
fastest, most exciting street-legal cars you can drive on the track.
00:15
Some numbers to consider, McLaren claims 789 horsepower, 590 pound feet of torque, a 0
00:22
to 60 time of 2.7 seconds, a quarter mile time of 9.9 seconds and a top speed of 211
00:31
miles an hour.
00:32
A McLaren that promises to set a new benchmark for hypercar performance where it counts most,
00:38
on the track.
00:39
As you can see from this greenhouse, the ultra-light and immensely strong Mono-Kage 3 structure
00:44
features a unique double-wall rear crash structure that eliminates the need for a roll cage.
00:50
The Senna's twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 is also shared with that of the 720S, but this new
00:58
air intake, unique carbon-fibre plenums, plus unique ultra-light camshaft and pistons and
01:05
sensors that allow higher combustion chamber boost pressures and temperatures have delivered
01:10
an 11% increase in power and a 4% increase in torque.
01:15
This car draws on design and engineering experience gained from competing for more than 50 years
01:20
at motorsports most elite level, Formula One.
01:24
It's all down to aerodynamics and it starts right here at the front.
01:28
On the McLaren 720, the radiators are out here, not on this car.
01:32
They've been moved to the centre of the car for one reason.
01:36
It enables air to come in through the front here and be managed by variable veins underneath
01:43
here which can alter the amount of downforce the car generates at speed.
01:49
One of the more controversial aspects of the design is the very sloped side and the corner
01:53
of this car has been brought much further forward than on the 720.
01:59
It's all about getting the air to flow around the front of the car and stick to the side
02:04
of the car.
02:05
This splitter here sticks out a long way.
02:07
It sticks out a long way at the side.
02:10
The car almost looks slightly over-bodied, but again, it's there to manage the airflow.
02:16
There's a purity of purpose to the centre's design that's almost military spec.
02:21
Look at the front of the car here where these high fender edges, I can get my fingers right
02:25
underneath here, are designed to make sure the air comes along this surface and sticks
02:31
to the side of the door and gets directed back into the radiators there.
02:36
The mirror's out here on the edge of the fender itself.
02:40
When I come down here, I can get my hand through to almost touch the front tyre.
02:46
That's because the air that comes in through those adjustable vanes at the front is being
02:51
directed out and again along the side of the car and into those giant radiator ducts.
02:57
These CCMR rotors, each one takes seven months to make, seven times longer than a conventional
03:03
carbon ceramic rotor.
03:06
They have four times the thermal efficiency and are 60% stronger than other carbon ceramic
03:12
brakes.
03:13
And what does that mean?
03:14
That means the rotors themselves can be smaller, which means less weight.
03:18
These brake callipers usually have a McLaren logo on it that's raised, but not these.
03:23
These are painted on.
03:24
They've saved a few precious grams.
03:27
The McLaren centre costs almost $960,000 and if you're expecting a lot of soft leather,
03:35
shiny wood, and glittery chrome for the money, you're going to be disappointed.
03:40
Everything you see here, like the exterior, is designed for purpose.
03:45
So if you see carbon fibre, that's because it's a structural element of the car.
03:50
The seats themselves are just carbon fibre shelves with strategically placed pieces of
03:55
foam to keep you comfortable.
03:57
Not doing too bad a job, I must say.
03:59
And the driver's seat has a little pod for the drive, neutral and reverse buttons, as
04:04
well as the launch control button attached to it.
04:06
So if you move the seat fore and aft, this little pod moves with you.
04:11
The central control screen, that's a feature of modern McLarens, is being moved up and
04:15
angled towards the driver so you can easily access all the functions.
04:21
The starter and the window lifts are up here to save weight on the doors.
04:25
And the windows themselves are quite small.
04:28
Only the lower bit recedes into the door.
04:32
It's also allowed McLaren to put this really cool glass panel at the bottom of the door.
04:37
So not only do you feel low to the road in this car, you'll be able to see it as well.
04:44
This carbon fibre active rear wing weighs just 11 pounds, yet it produces 100 times
04:50
that amount of downforce on the rear axle.
04:54
Working in conjunction with the active front blades and this aerodynamic underfloor, it
04:59
contributes to a total downforce of 1,764 pounds.
05:05
That's astonishing for a car that weighs barely 2,800 pounds and is the reason, says McLaren,
05:11
that the Senna will generate 30% more lateral grip than its previous top-dog hypercar, the
05:18
P1.
05:19
Now, the McLaren Senna has on paper an identical 0-60 time and identical top speed to Porsche's
05:27
new 911 GT2 RS.
05:31
But this car's killer combination of ultra-lightweight and massive downforce begs the question, can
05:37
the Porsche 911 GT2 RS's record-breaking Nurburgring Nordschleife lap time, 6 minutes,
05:44
47.3 seconds, be safe for long?
05:48
Icon right there.
05:50
Gifted Brazilian Ayrton Senna, arguably the greatest Formula One driver of all time, won
05:55
three world championships in four years while driving for McLaren.
05:59
The people at McLaren today hope the Senna will be a car that's a fitting homage to one
06:05
of the driving greats.
06:06
(upbeat music)
06:09
[BLANK_AUDIO]
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