Homage To Ayrton

The McLaren Senna is an extreme track-day machine with stupendous levels of grip, vision-blurring acceleration and sublime handling.

- Dr Andre Lam

DEVELOPMENT at McLaren Automotive is moving along at breakneck speed, with several models being introduced in quick succession over the past few years.

The 720S, for instance, was launched less than two years ago. Now there’s the Senna and the 600LT, which was unveiled in Singapore last month.

When you look back at the carmaker’s history, McLaren Cars made 106 vehicles from 1993 to 1994. The firm then lay dormant till 2010, when it was renamed McLaren Automotive.

Then the floodgates opened. From 2010 to 2017, McLaren produced 15,000 cars, or nearly 142 times as many as it made back in 1993 and 1994.

Back to the Senna. What exactly is it? Within the McLaren model range, the Senna sits with the brand’s top-end Ultimate Series, alongside the P1.

By the way, before McLaren could even name the car, it needed approval from the family of the late Ayrton Senna, who won three driver championships with the McLaren Formula 1 team.

Now, unlike the P1, the Senna eschews the use of a petrol electric hybrid drivetrain. It is more purist, with a turbocharged V8, lightweight body, sticky tyres and an extremely aerodynamic design.

With a body made entirely of carbon fibre composites, the 1198kg Senna is lighter than the 720S (1238kg) and P1 (1395kg), but it is not as light as the original F1 (1138kg).

This might seem disappointing, but McLaren spared no effort to bring the Senna’s weight down to the barest minimum.

So extreme has been the use of carbon fibre that the front fender weighs just 0.66kg (660 grams), and the huge rear wing that is capable of generating nearly half of the 800kg of downforce weighs an unbelievable 4.87kg!