McLaren has officially announced that the successor to the iconic P1 will be named the W1. The automaker explained that the name draws inspiration from its “World Championship mindset.”
The McLaren W1 is set to make its debut on the 50th anniversary of the manufacturer’s first Formula 1 championship win.
McLaren CEO Michael Leiters said, “The McLaren W1 is defined by true supercar principles and represents the ultimate expression of a McLaren supercar.
Born from our rich racing heritage and World Championship mindset, the W1 pushes performance boundaries and is deserving of the ‘1’ designation.”
It may seem hard to believe—especially as the brand continues to commemorate it—but nearly nine years have passed since the production of the McLaren P1 hypercar came to an end.
The P1 remains as exotic and exhilarating today as it was a decade ago, even in the face of increasingly advanced supercars from competing brands.
However, in the competitive sports car market, resting on past achievements is not an option. McLaren has now confirmed its plans for a new flagship hypercar, one that will be unveiled in less than two weeks.
The automaker teased this upcoming model in a YouTube video released on Wednesday, September 25. Titled “What Makes a ‘1’ Car?” the one-minute clip is rich in dramatic music and footage of familiar faces, but light on specific details.
The key reveal comes at the end of the video: reveal of the new car will take place at 1 p.m. British Summer Time on October 6. For those in the U.S., that’s 8 a.m. in New York and 5 a.m. in Los Angeles.
The video can be found on YouTube, and McLaren fans can expect more information closer to the reveal date. For those following the brand closely, this announcement won’t come as much of a shock.
McLaren has traditionally categorized its models into three tiers: the Sport Series, originally launched with the 570S and currently represented by the Artura; the Super Series, which began with the MP4-12C and is now led by the 750S; and the Ultimate Series, which debuted with the P1.
Since then, the Ultimate Series has expanded to include groundbreaking models such as the Elva, Senna, and Speedtail. (The GTS grand tourer occupies its own unique position within the lineup.)
However, despite the Senna’s track-dominating capabilities and the Speedtail’s reported top speed of 250 mph, neither of these vehicles has been regarded as a true successor to the P1.
Neither quite advanced the hypercar concept in the same way that the P1 and F1 did in their time. But, based on the upcoming video and its teaser, it seems McLaren aims for the W1 to set new standards in technology and design, much like its legendary predecessors.
As for the name, the inclusion of “1” seems almost certain, given the theme of the video and the history of the P1 and F1.
Initially, there was some speculation that McLaren might skip ahead another 10 letters in the alphabet—following the progression from F to P—but it quickly became clear that BMW might have an issue with McLaren using “Z1” for their new hypercar.
