After introducing as a concept at the Geneva Motor Show this year, McLaren has now teased the track-oriented Senna GTR ahead of its official launch. By far we know that the track version of the road-going Senna is going to pack more power with better focus.
By far we have only seen one sketch of the upcoming car. But that shows that Senna's already extravagant aero has improved on the drawing boards of the company. The most evident tweaks in the design are the deep front splitter and huge rear wing. We found out that the latter sits further back on the car's body, while its endplates extend much lower than the car's rear arches. According to McLaren, this results in a 'coupling' effect between the airflow from the diffuser and the wing, increasing low-speed downforce.
McLaren has improved on the already jaw-dropping aero of the car which means that the GTR will now be capable of generating close to a 1000 kg of downforce. From the sketch, we learn that the wide fenders are in place to accommodate large front and rear tracks while housing centre-lock wheels.
The British manufacturer has paid special attention to the double wishbone suspension of its hypercar. The new set up including the geometry, springs dampers and anti-roll bars have been derived from the McLaren GT3 racing programme.
Mechanically, the car retains the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine. However, it has been mildly breathed upon to attain a 25bhp push over the road-legal variant. Meanwhile, torque remains untouched at 800Nm.
We learn that the upcoming car will sport a lower kerb weight than the road variant which calls for an even greater power-to-weight ratio than the regular Senna.
McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt said: “Excelling on the track underpins the heritage of the McLaren brand and is as important and relevant today as it has ever been.
“The track-only McLaren Senna GTR will have more power, more grip and more downforce, and post even faster lap times; the very limited number of customers who secure this car will be buying the closest experience you can get to a race car without actually lining up on a circuit grid.”
Just 75 examples of the Senna GTR will be produced, with production starting in September 2019 when production of the road-going model finishes
(Image Source: McLaren/Auto Express)
