McLaren is one of the top names in the auto-racing world. They’ve captured checkered flags all over the globe, but they also make some of the coolest road cars.
The racing team and the auto-making parts of McLaren fall under the same name, but they were completely different outfits until a few years ago. The brand has endured some ups and downs, spending nearly 16 years in dormancy. Ever since this brand reemerged with some extremely hot supercars, they’ve been providing the well-heeled public with some amazing driving cars. Here are ten that are extremely cool.
McLaren Elva
The Elva began heading to customers in 2021 and is built with inspiration from the racing cars produced by the company’s founder, Bruce McLaren. The Elva is a monstrously powerful machine, utilizing a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine that produces 804 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. This engine has been used in other McLaren supercars, and it’s the most powerful V8 this company makes. Like so many other McLaren supercars, the Elva was only made in 149 models, making it a limited-run car.
McLaren Artura
The first mass-produced hybrid supercar from this brand is the Artura. This car puts a V6 and a 70KW electric motor to work to produce incredible power and speed in one of the best McLaren road cars in the market. Even a boutique supercar automaker like McLaren can see the movement toward electrification, and the Artura is the answer. This incredible machine can hit 60 mph in 2.9 seconds and offers a top speed of 205 mph. That should be more than enough excitement for anyone behind the wheel of the McLaren Artura.
McLaren P1
The P1 is the successor to the F1 and was one of the first cars to signal that McLaren was back in the car-making business. The P1 showed up at the Paris Motor Show, giving us a look at what this incredible car had to offer. This amazing hybrid supercar uses a V8 engine as its engine to deliver 903 horsepower and rocket to 60 mph in less than 2.8 seconds. The P1 was so popular that it sold out in less than a month, making it a huge success.
McLaren F1 GT
The F1 GT wasn’t any ordinary McLaren road car; it was the car that allowed the company to race in the 1997 GT Championship. This car features the “Longtail” bodywork but didn’t include a rear wing, which was unusual. Only three of the McLaren F1 GT models were ever made, all from a standard F1 road car chassis which kept their original production numbers. This version of the F1 was lighter than the standard model, which logically should translate to a higher top seed, but that was never confirmed.
McLaren P1 GTR
This car was never meant for driving on the road, but McLaren customers can have some sway in the use of a car when enough of them desire something more. Because some owners wanted to take the car on the road (no one really knows why), Lazante offered conversions to create road-legal builds for the P1 GTR. This version of the P1 has 83 more horsepower than the regular model and more downforce to give this car the racing chops to handle any track.
McLaren F1
The F1 was the first of the McLaren road cars, and it still holds the top position as the greatest achievement of this company. This car is considered by many to be the best driver’s car ever built (so much for the BMW M3 being the Ultimate Driving Machine), and it created a new road car performance moniker in 1992. That’s right, the F1 dates back to 1992, just before the company went dormant. There were only 106 of these ever made, and at one time was the fastest production car in the world with a 221 mph speed.
McLaren Speedtail
The most recent Speedtail model is the fastest and most powerful car that McLaren makes for driving on the road. This car has a combined output of 1,040 horsepower and a top speed of 250 mph. This hybrid hypercar can hit 186 mph from a standstill in 12.8 seconds, making it lightning quick. The Speedtail isn’t just a fast car, it’s also an advanced machine with electrochromic glass and carbon fiber bodywork that make it an extremely cool car.
McLaren Senna
The McLaren Senna was made to offer incredible on-track performance, but it’s also one of the coolest McLaren road cars ever made. Some look at this car and think the company went overboard on the aerodynamics and gave up any sense of style, which could be true. That said, the Senna didn’t need to look strikingly beautiful to sell out quickly. There were 500 planned models of this car, and all sold out when it launched: so much for going overboard.
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
This car has an interesting story. The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was made when the car-making side of McLaren was in its dormancy. Still, this car brought some of the Formula One racing prowess t the market, which was where McLaren was still very much alive and active. The SLR brought some amazing F1 tech, giving this Merc the British feeling many desired. The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was a successful joint venture that is also one of the coolest McLaren road cars ever made.
McLaren MP4-12C
If ever there was a car to announce a return, this was the one. The MP4-12C (not a very catchy name) showed the world that McLaren was back to making cars for the general public with enough scratch to afford one. This car brought incredible aerodynamics, amazing performance, and serious style. The MP4-12C was the first car to include the McLaren signature V8 engine, making it a foundational car that showed what this company could build and would do to create the future of supercar driving on any road.
Which of these ten is your favorite of the McLaren road cars? They’re all extremely cool and impressive examples of power, performance, speed, and control from a brand that made its mark on the racetracks of the world.
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