2.7 s to 60 and 5.8 s to 124 mph, by McLaren's numbers. 1,258 horsepower, and every bit of it goes to the rear tires.
Photo: MrWalkr, CC BY-SA 4.0, Salon Privé 2025. We cut the car out and placed it on a dark background; our edit is shared under the same license.
McLaren claims the W1 reaches 60 mph in 2.7 seconds claimed, 124 mph in 5.8 s claimed and 186 mph in under 12.7 s claimed, with top speed limited to 217 mph claimed (McLaren press pack). Power is 1,258 hp claimed, all of it to the rear wheels.
No magazine had published an instrumented test by October 25, 2026. The June 2026 first drives at Mugello reported speeds, not timed runs: Top Gear saw 193 mph reported at the end of the main straight (Top Gear). For the quarter mile, McLaren spec tables republished by Carscoops say under 9.6 s reported (Carscoops). Our race uses 2.61 s converted, McLaren's 0-100 km/h claim converted to 60 mph, even though McLaren lists 2.7 s to 60 mph too, and an estimated 9.00 s at 160 mph estimate.
McLaren builds a "1" car about once a decade. The F1 of 1992 had a carbon-fiber tub, a BMW V-12 and three seats, and a racing version won Le Mans in 1995. The P1 of 2013 was McLaren's first hybrid hypercar. The W1 follows both, and McLaren says the W stands for its "World Championship mindset" (Carscoops).
It was revealed on October 6, 2024, 50 years to the day after Emerson Fittipaldi won McLaren its first drivers' and constructors' titles. McLaren says all 399 cars were already allocated, at a price from about £2.0 million claimed in the UK (McLaren), and US outlets list $2.1 million reported (Car and Driver).
Photo: Mustang Joe, CC0, Toronto auto show, February 2026, background blurred.
Every figure carries its label. claimed means McLaren or another maker said it, without a published timed run. recorded means timed on an actual run: an instrumented test, a certified or verified record run, or a maker's own pass on a drag strip's timing system. verified means an official body. reported is press we couldn't trace to a primary source. derived is our math. converted is a 0-100 km/h claim converted to 0-60 mph. estimate is modeled for our race because no published figure exists. Here's how we label numbers.
Each bar fills at the real speed of that car's 0-60 time. Rows with a race car's name use our race lineup; the W1's own 2.7 s claim and two Car and Driver and MotorTrend tests are added for scale. The Plaid's claim subtracts a one-foot rollout; the Ferrari, Lamborghini and race W1 figures are conversions from 0-100 km/h.
By hypercar standards, 2.7 s to 60 is unremarkable. Car and Driver timed the far cheaper Artura at 2.6 s recorded (Car and Driver), and MotorTrend wrote that if it recorded 2.7 s, the W1 "wouldn't be among the top 10 quickest cars we've tested" (MotorTrend). Rear-wheel drive caps the launch. Above 60 mph the picture flips: the W1's 5.8 s claimed to 124 mph is a whisker behind the all-wheel-drive Ferrari F80's 5.75 s claimed (Ferrari), and its run to 186 mph beats every McLaren before it.
Why does our race say 2.61 s? It's our conversion of McLaren's 2.7 s to 100 km/h down to 96.6 km/h (60 mph) converted. McLaren's own spec sheet lists 2.7 s for 0-60 mph as well, so read 2.61 s as an optimistic conversion, not a McLaren number. McLaren also doesn't say whether it subtracts a one-foot rollout, as US magazines do.
All three slides are real photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each slide. None are McLaren photography.
Tap a marker. Figures are McLaren claims from its press pack. Photo: MrWalkr, CC BY-SA 4.0, Goodwood Festival of Speed 2025, background and bystanders blurred; our edit is shared under the same license.
Hot air from the front radiators leaves through one big duct in the middle of the bonnet. The blade behind it lifts to reveal the battery-conditioning port and the fluid reservoirs.
The W1 is the first McLaren road car with pushrods and inboard dampers, plus 3D-printed titanium uprights and wishbones. Wheels are 19 inches in front and 20 at the rear, over 390 mm carbon-ceramic discs with F1-style ducts.
McLaren's first anhedral doors leave a clean path for air pulled out of the front wheel arches toward the radiators. Two outlets in the door cut-out let you see the front suspension arms.
The big triangular intake feeds the high-temperature radiators. Undercut below it, a second intake feeds a channel to the rear diffuser. The car runs 10 heat exchangers in all.
Driven by electric actuators, the two-element wing tilts to cut drag on straights, stands up as an airbrake, and in Race mode slides 300 mm back. Race mode also drops the car 37 mm at the front and 17 mm at the rear.
The roof fin keeps air attached to the rear deck so the wing can work lower, with less drag. It's one of the few panels not made of carbon fiber, so the radio and navigation antennas inside it can work.
Nobody has published a timed W1 pass yet. McLaren spec tables republished at the reveal say under 9.6 s reported (Carscoops), and duPont Registry quotes 9.6 s at 167 mph reported (duPont Registry). Neither figure appears in McLaren's UK press pack.
Our race uses 9.00 s at 160 mph estimate, quicker than McLaren's own figure. Whether a rear-drive car with 1,258 hp can put that power down off the line is the open question, and we'll swap in a real timeslip when one appears.
The F1 and P1 for scale. Figures are McLaren's unless a tester or another label is named.
A central driving seat, a 6.1-liter BMW V-12 and the first carbon-fiber road car tub.
Times recorded by Car and Driver in 1994. The 106 includes 64 road cars and 28 racers reported.
McLaren's first hybrid hypercar, a 3.8-liter V-8 with an electric motor.
0-60 and a 9.8 s quarter recorded by MotorTrend; 0-186 claimed (Winding Road). The 375 built is reported by the same story. McLaren said it lapped the Nordschleife in under seven minutes.
A new 4.0-liter V-8 hybrid, ground-effect floor and active wings front and rear.
All claimed. Hagerty notes the W1 reaches 186 mph about 4 seconds sooner than the P1 (Hagerty).
Fifty-two years, three "1" cars. Scroll sideways.
Emerson Fittipaldi wins McLaren its first drivers' and constructors' championships.
A carbon tub, a BMW V-12 and three seats. A racing F1 wins Le Mans in 1995.
McLaren's first hybrid hypercar: 903 hp claimed, 375 built reported.
1,258 hp, 399 cars, all already allocated, on the 50th anniversary of the first titles.
A graphite W1 goes on display at the Festival of Speed.
McLaren posts dynamic testing film, then hot-weather testing in Arizona in October.
The W1's North American auto-show debut, with Pfaff McLaren.
Reviews land from a track owned by Ferrari; Top Gear sees 193 mph reported.
The W1 joins Forza Horizon 6, the only way most people will drive one.
McLaren confirms Australian cars; New Zealand deliveries start in early 2027.
Lando Norris laps Portimão in a W1 and asks for "a supercar license."
MotorBiscuit reports owners haven't yet driven their cars on public roads reported.
The first drives were nearly unanimous on the chassis and split on the numbers. These are opinions, quoted with links.
"1,258bhp through the rear wheels should be unmanageable, but instead the W1 is a paragon of feel, feedback and traction."Jason Barlow, Top Gear, 10 out of 10
Top Gear put it "up there with the Ferrari F80" and called it easier to live with than the Aston Martin Valkyrie.
"It is merely and delightfully a sports car, not a spaceship."Daniel Pund, Road & Track
Pund found the F80 more impressive as technology but said the W1 "feels less mediated," with hydraulic steering and no front motors.
"This is a hypercar that is easy to use and therefore should be driven."Henry Catchpole, Hagerty
Hagerty worried that many of the 399 will be stored as investments, and called it perhaps the best all-round hypercar yet.
"If we were to record that same number in our instrumented testing, it wouldn't be among the top 10 quickest cars we've tested."MotorTrend buyer's guide
MotorTrend lists "Porsches and Teslas are quicker" among the cons, judging the 2.7 s claim alone.
The consensus: the W1 is the most usable car in its class and a rare 1,258 hp car that doesn't frighten its driver. Off the line it's ordinary for a hypercar, rear-wheel drive costs it a tenth or three against all-wheel-drive rivals, and nobody has yet put a timing box on one to settle the quarter mile.
McLaren Automotive · Oct 6, 2024 · 7:47
McLaren Automotive · Oct 8, 2024 · 1:12
McLaren Automotive · Sep 29, 2025 · 0:55
Jay Leno's Garage · Mar 10, 2025 · 31:18
Hagerty · Jun 29, 2026 · 24:16
Chris Harris on Cars · Jun 29, 2026 · 26:35
Top Gear · Jun 29, 2026 · 19:50
Marques Brownlee · Jul 2, 2026 · 16:30
Autocar · Jul 3, 2026 · 19:33
All Cars · Aug 10, 2026 · 2:01
McLaren Automotive · Oct 21, 2026 · 5:13
The eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox has no reverse. The electric motor backs the car up, and the battery keeps a reserve for it.
The e-module, motor and controller together, weighs 20 kg, spins to 24,000 rpm and makes 347 PS. McLaren says that's 23 PS per kilogram, "directly comparable to Formula 1 E-motors."
The V-8 alone makes 928 PS, 103 PS more than the track-only Senna GTR, and it's 55 mm shorter than the old engine.
The whole powertrain is tilted 3 degrees in the chassis to make room for the diffuser, which starts curving up ahead of the rear axle.
Car and Driver timed the 671 hp Artura at 2.6 s to 60, a tenth under the W1's 2.7 s claim. The W1 pulls away from there.
McLaren held the press drive at Mugello, a circuit owned by Ferrari about 75 miles from Maranello, just as the F80 arrived.
After his first laps at Portimão, Lando Norris said: "I think you need a license to drive this thing – a supercar license."
Even the sun visors are carbon fiber, 3 mm thick. The headrests fold forward to reach a 117-liter shelf behind the seats, big enough for two helmets.
The 1.384 kWh battery gives less than 2 km (1.6 miles) of electric-only driving. It exists for response and boost, not range.
In our quarter-mile model the W1 finishes 12th of 21 on its estimated 9.00 s, tied on time with the Ferrari F80 and Formula E car. The car just quicker and the car just slower:
Ferrari F809.00 s at 157 mph estimate. Read the profile
Lucid Air Sapphire9.03 s at 155 mph recorded. Read the profile
Card photos: Ferrari F80 by Calreyn88, CC BY-SA 4.0, edited.
McLaren claims 2.7 seconds to 60 mph, the same figure it gives for 0 to 100 km/h, plus 5.8 seconds to 124 mph and under 12.7 seconds to 186 mph. No magazine had published an instrumented test by October 2026. Our simulator uses 2.61 seconds, which is McLaren's 0 to 100 km/h claim converted to 60 mph.
No timed quarter-mile run has been published. McLaren spec tables republished by Carscoops list under 9.6 seconds, and duPont Registry quotes 9.6 seconds at 167 mph. Our race uses an estimate of 9.00 seconds at 160 mph.
McLaren claims 1,258 hp (1,275 PS) and 988 lb-ft combined: 916 hp from a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 that revs to 9,200 rpm and 342 hp from an electric motor mounted beside the eight-speed gearbox. All of it goes to the rear wheels.
McLaren quotes from about £2.0 million in the UK including taxes, and US outlets list $2.1 million before personalization. Only 399 will be built, and McLaren says all of them were already allocated to customers when the car was revealed in October 2024.
No. As of October 2026 McLaren has published no Nordschleife time. Its only lap claim is that the W1 is 3 seconds a lap quicker than the McLaren Senna at its Nardò reference circuit. The W1 Nürburgring lap videos we found on YouTube come from racing games.
McLaren says the W stands for its World Championship mindset. The car was revealed on October 6, 2024, 50 years after McLaren won its first Formula 1 constructors' title and Emerson Fittipaldi took the 1974 drivers' crown. The 1 follows the F1 of 1992 and the P1 of 2013.
Photo: MrWalkr, CC BY-SA 4.0, Salon Privé 2025, car cut out and placed on a dark background; our edit is shared under the same license.
Labels. Claimed: McLaren or another maker said it, without a published timed run. Recorded: timed on an actual run: an instrumented test, a certified or verified record run, or a maker's own pass on a drag strip's timing system. Verified: an official body. Reported: press reporting we couldn't trace to a primary source. Converted: a 0-100 km/h claim converted to 0-60 mph. Derived: our math. Estimate: modeled for our race because no published figure exists. Both are explained in the methodology guide. See every car in the race on the all-cars page. The race's 2.61 s is our conversion of McLaren's 0-100 km/h claim to 60 mph; McLaren itself lists 2.7 s to 60 mph. The 9.00 s quarter is our estimate and is quicker than the under-9.6 s figure attributed to McLaren. Sources disagree in a few places: McLaren rates the car at 1,258 hp while Hagerty prints 1,257 hp; Road & Track calls the doors gullwings and some descriptions call them dihedral, while McLaren calls them anhedral, and we use McLaren's term; and for the P1, MotorTrend timed 2.6 s to 60 where Car and Driver got 2.7 s.
Images. Every photo of the W1 on this page is a real photo from Wikimedia Commons. Hero, wheel detail and closing photo: MrWalkr (second frame), Salon Privé 2025. Graphite car and wing detail: MrWalkr, Goodwood 2025. Both CC BY-SA 4.0; we cut the car out for the hero and closing images, cropped, and blurred backgrounds and bystanders, and our edits are shared under the same license. Doors-up car and cabin detail: Mustang Joe, CC0, Toronto 2026. None are McLaren photos, and none are generated illustrations. The two neighbor-card thumbnails show other cars: the Ferrari F80 is a cutout of a real photo, credited under the cards, and the Lucid Air Sapphire is our own generated illustration. Video thumbnails come from YouTube.
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