McLaren W1 prototype spotted on public roads for the first time

The McLaren W1 broke cover on October 6, 2024. Now, exactly 2 months later, the first test mule of the brand’s flagship hypercar has been spotted on public roads.

This is the first pre-production prototype of the McLaren W1 that has been spied testing. What we saw in October was not the final version, and therefore, we can expect to see a few changes made to the car by the time it reaches production.

That being said, this camouflaged test mule looks similar to the W1 that was presented during the global unveiling. It has slim headlamps with large vents at the front, massive intake ducts on the sides, and a large retractable wing at the back.

The McLaren W1 uses an all-new 4.0-liter V8 hybrid powertrain that produces 1258 hp and 988 lb-ft of torque, with a redline at 9200 rpm. This makes it McLaren’s most powerful and highest-revving road car powertrain ever and is paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission. The W1 weighs just 1399 kg, resulting in a power-to-weight ratio of 911 PS per tonne. The result is 0-124 mph in just 5.8 seconds.

McLaren is building 399 examples of the W1 with a price tag of approximately $2.6 million each.

Source: Supercarsallday