Road-legal McLaren P1 GTR confirmed

The 986bhp McLaren P1 GTR will be converted for road use by British marque specialist Lanzante.

The Hampshire-based firm, which is renowned for its work on customer McLaren F1s and F1 GTRs, has decided to undertake the conversion work following demand from customers who have bought the track-only version of the P1 GTR from the factory.

More than 40 £1.98m P1 GTRs were sold, with the cars being offered to existing P1 road car owners only. The track car has a kerb weight of 1440kg, giving it around 685bhp per tonne. The level of standard modifications has not been revealed, nor the price of conversions, because of the complexity of customer requirements.

“We will be tackling all conversions on a case-by-case basis,” said Dean Lanzante. “What we do will depend on where the customer wants to run the car and what the regulations are in that region. But whatever we do it will always be done sympathetically; the GTR has been built to be a step beyond the P1, we’re trying to keep as much of that spirit as we can. It will still be lighter, have more power, better aero and so on.”

Neither the McLaren factory nor its MSO division is directly involved but it is believed to have given the project its blessing and will co-operate with Lanzante to help ensure its success. “I wouldn’t do anything to damage our relationship with McLaren, which we’ve built up over 20 years through our work on the F1,” said Lanzante.

Work on the first conversion is expected to begin mid-year. The completion date will depend on how long the reglatory paperwork takes to be processed.

Reports have already suggested that the next generation, factory-developed P1 could be track-only as a result of tightening regulations restricting what’s possible for road-legal vehicles.

However, a final decision on the direction of the next P1 remains some way off. McLaren chief executive Mike Flewitt has already stated that the firm won’t replace the current car until technological advances allow McLaren to make a significant step forwards in terms of performance.

As such, the next generation P1 is likely to centre on hybrid powertrain developments and is believed to be at least a decade from production.

Source: www.autocar.co.uk