McLaren have officially unveiled the Senna GTR. Shown as a concept over a year ago, the GTR follows on from the P1 GTR. It gives McLaren customers the opportunity to own something very close to a race car, but without the limitations of the FIA rule book!
The McLaren Senna GTR looks stunning. The road car’s over the top styling has been further refined. The changes give the Senna 200 kg of additional downforce. It now produces 1,000 kg of downforce at 250 km/h. Compared to the concept, the front splitter is all new and the size of the rear diffuser has been significantly reduced. New dive planes have been added to the front corners and vortex generators either side of the car. The rear wing is inspired by LMP1 with end plates which connect the wing with the bodywork.
Under the bodywork sits McLaren’s Monocage III-R central structure, a carbon-fibre safety cell. There is an aluminium front subframe and aluminium engine frame, with composite crash beams front and rear. The GTR is 34mm lower, the front track has increased by 77 mm and the rear track is wider by 68 mm. McLaren have shed 10 kg of weight too. This despite the track car’s wider track, extended body and pneumatic air jacks, pit radio, fire extinguishing system and data logger. Many of the road cars comforts have also been removed, aside from air conditioning!
The windscreen and side windows are polycarbonate and a manual release mechanism is fitted to the doors. A race style fuel filler is standard, wheel finishes can be Gloss Black, Race Silver or Matt Dark Graphite and the colour of the door struts and brake calipers can be ordered in Azura blue, red or McLaren Orange at no additional cost.
The Senna GTR uses McLaren’s 4.0 litre V8, tuned to produce 825 hp and 800 Nm of torque. The GTR’s 25 additional horsepower comes at the expense of the secondary catalyst’s removal. The GTR does not use the side exit exhausts of the concept car. McLaren explain that the standard positioning of the tailpipes was due to decisions made on weight saving. The Senna also gets a dry weight of 1,188kg, allowing for a McLaren record 694 hp-per tonne power-to-weight ratio.
The transmission is the same 7 speed SSG box found in the Senna road car. It gets Wet, Track and Race settings, each with varying degrees of ESP and ABS intervention.
Inside, the McLaren Senna GTR will be left hand drive only. It comes with one FIA-approved, lightweight carbon-fibre racing seat and six-point FIA harness. Optionally, McLaren will fit a second seat as a no cost option. The cabin does without airbags, infotainment and other driver aids. Carbon fibre and Alcantara dominate the surfaces. The racing steering wheel and instrument cluster finish it off. Exterior colours will be catered to the individual taste.
Just 75 Senna GTR’s will be produced. All are spoken for at a cost of £1.1 million plus taxes. Deliveries will begin in September 2019.
