New McLaren Speedtail has started production in Surrey

McLaren Speedtail starts production
McLaren Speedtail starts production

The new McLaren Speedtail has started production at the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking, Surrey, after completing its dynamic development programme.


Chief test driver Kenny Brack concluded the programme when he took the new supercar up to its maximum speed of 205mph at the Kennedy Space Center in the US

The final high-speed tests in the car’s engineering validation process saw the Speedtail prototype, named XP2, reach its maximum speed more than 30 times on the space shuttle landing runway.

The exercise concluded a programme of high-speed running carried out at multiple test facilities worldwide, including Idiada in Spain and Papenburg in Germany.

The first of 106 Speedtails will be now be hand-assembled to customer order at the MPC, with deliveries scheduled from February 2020.

The Speedtail completing naximum-speed runs at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“It’s fitting that the Speedtail’s high-speed test programme concluded with multiple maximum-speed runs at a location strongly associated with pushing the boundaries of extreme performance and engineering excellence,” commented McLaren Automotive CEO, Mike Flewitt. “The Speedtail is a truly extraordinary car that epitomises McLaren’s pioneering spirit and perfectly illustrates our determination to continue to set new benchmarks for supercar and hypercar performance.”

At almost 5.2m long, the carbon-fibre-bodied three-seat Hyper GT is the most aerodynamically drag efficient McLaren ever and a showcase for the brand’s expertise in lightweight engineering.

The Speedtail’s petrol-electric hybrid powertrain delivers the greatest power and torque of any McLaren road car, with a combined 1,070PS (1,055bhp) and 1,150Nm (848lb ft). The straight-line acceleration and maximum speed of the car set new benchmarks for McLaren, with 0-186mph achieved in less than 13 seconds and the Speedtail able to reach 250mph.

The McLaren-developed battery pack has a power density of 5.2kW/kg, which is thought to be the best power-to-weight ratio of any automotive high voltage battery system. The batteries constantly self-charge when the Speedtail is driven – there is no ‘plug-in’ element – however, a wireless charging pad that trickle-charges and maintains the battery’s status when the vehicle is not in use is also included as standard.

McLaren Automotive www.mclarenautomotive.com

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