McLaren takes on F1 with its new Hyper-GT supercar

McLaren is set to release its fastest car ever with its new Hyper-GT model. Revealing the BP23 at the Geneva Motor Show on Friday 9 March, the supercar brand announced that its new road model will achieve the highest top speed of any McLaren car ever – exceeding the 243mph top speed of its 'F1' concept car, set in 1998. 

Priced at £1.6million, just 106 models of the ‘Hyper-GT’ will be made with production scheduled to begin at the end of 2019. Pre-allocated in November 2016, each BP23 will be personalised to the owner's specifics by McLaren Special Operations (MSO), the division of McLaren Automotive at the helm of creating bespoke commissions. During a press conference held at the Motor Show, McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt also disclosed that a public reveal of the car can be expected later this year.

"Absolute top speed is not the point," Flewitt said, "but it will be very, very, very, very quick, by far the fastest car McLaren has ever made. Beyond that, we want to sell a car that can do what it can do straight out of the showroom. If it had a set of tyres that can do 300mph, they’d be horrible to use – damn near solid. I want to deliver a package that’s drivable. What it won’t do is set any lap times because it doesn’t have a whole load of downforce."

The BP23 – which stands for Bespoke Prototype Two, Three-Seat – follows the same layout as the McLaren F1, with a three-seat cockpit design and central driving position. The concept vehicle's final name and confirmation of the maximum possible speed, will be disclosed nearer to the car’s reveal.

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Although the potential for a record-breaking speedster was one of the most exciting moments of the Geneva Motor Show, it wasn't the only string to McLaren's bow. The brand also revealed news of The RM 11-03 McLaren watch, in collaboration with Richard Mille, and its highly anticipated track-only concept car, the McLaren Senna GTR Concept.

The track-only Senna hypercar is an homage to the brand's Formula 1 champion driver Ayrton Senna. Flewitt said: "Excelling on the track underpins the heritage of the McLaren brand and is as important and relevant today as it has ever been. The track-only McLaren Senna GTR will have more power, more grip and more downforce – up to 1,000kg – than the McLaren Senna and post even faster lap times; the very limited number of customers who secure this car will be buying the closest experience you can get to a race car without actually lining up on a circuit grid."