The incoming McLaren Speedtail hyper-GT has completed its dynamic development programme by hitting its maximum speed of 403km/h at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Space shuttle landing strip
Kenny Brack, McLaren's chief test driver, was the fellow who got the honour of taking the Speedtail prototype (named 'XP2') beyond 400km/h, but he didn't do it just once - he managed the feat more than 30 times on the space shuttle's landing runway at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds. Further high-speed-running tests were carried out at Idiada in Spain and Papenburg in Germany.
Mike Flewitt, the CEO of McLaren Automotive, said: "It's fitting that the Speedtail's high-speed test programme concluded with multiple maximum-speed runs at a location strongly associated with pushing the boundaries of extreme performance and engineering excellence. The Speedtail is a truly extraordinary car that epitomises McLaren's pioneering spirit and perfectly illustrates our determination to continue to set new benchmarks for supercar and hypercar performance."
First deliveries in February
The first of the 106 Speedtails to be hand-assembled at McLaren's Woking HQ is in production and deliveries are scheduled from February 2020. The Speedtail has a carbon-fibre body that measures 5.2 metres in length and which features active aerodynamics, including a pair of ailerons in the trailing edge. Power comes from a petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain that delivers colossal numbers of 1,070hp and 1,150Nm, meaning 0-300km/h takes less than 13 seconds.
Still no confirmation of precisely which petrol engine is doing the hard yards in the Speedtail, but the smart money is on it being some derivation of the 4.0-litre biturbo V8 that sees service in practically all modern McLarens https://www.completecar.ie/car/search/car-reviews/McLaren. By the way, even if you had enough money to buy a Speedtail (around €2.85 million), they're all sold out. Which is a shame.