What's the news?
We already knew the McLaren Senna hypercar was coming to the Geneva Motor Show but here's one of five variations on the 800hp/800Nm monster by McLaren Special Operations (MSO) - this one's called the Senna Carbon Theme.
It's main feature, perhaps unsurprisingly, is carbon fibre. Lots and lots of exposed carbon fibre on the body. This is what MSO calls the Visual Carbon Fibre exterior and it's made up of 67 different parts, all of which take almost 1,000 hours to produce. The very keen-eyed F1 fanatics among you might also have noticed the Solar Yellow detailing (on the sills, rear wing and front active aero blades, this took another 250 hours of MSO time) and the Laurel Green brake callipers - two colours chosen to recognise the helmet colours of the legendary Brazilian F1 ace after which the car is named.
Inside, the yellow and green continues, with the door gas struts in Laurel Green and the contrast stitching in the Solar. The steering wheel's leather 12 o'clock marker in also yellow, while the seats feature a Senna 'S' on the headrest. That same detail is repeated in a satin finish Visual Carbon Fibre on the end plates of the rear wing, while one of the front fenders wears the Senna brand too.
There are more MSO options for the Senna on show in Geneva, beyond the Carbon Theme car itself. A new seven-spoke, Hybrid Carbon Fibre Wheel design is the only alternative to the standard rims McLaren fits to the car in the factory, of which there are three finishes. However, the MSO wheel is made from forged aluminium and carbon fibre - and each one weighs just 7.5kg (without a tyre), which is 10 per cent lighter than the standard-fit wheel. As any car enthusiast knows, reducing unsprung weight on a vehicle is very good news indeed.
Anything else?
"The McLaren Senna customers in the process of specifying their own, personalised cars are almost without exception commissioning an elevated level of MSO content, so we are definitely appealing to our target audience," saidd Ansar Ali, MD of MSO. "With the car having generated so much interest since its unveiling in December, we knew we needed to produce something very special in order to showcase the unique talents of McLaren Special Operations; the McLaren Senna Carbon Theme by MSO at the Geneva Motor Show is exactly the kind of project we thrive on delivering and once customers have had the opportunity to view it in person, I would not be at all surprised to see a rise in expressions of interest for MSO Visual Carbon Fibre cars similar to this one."
McLaren is going to hold a press conference at 10.45am CET on March 6, at which it will introduce the Senna and also make a surprise announcement - more on that nearer the time.