McLaren reveals new F1 supercar successor......P1

[kaisen]

Rumored to have a 800 horsepower V12
Complete details at Paris Auto Show, September 27th











There are elements I really like, but some I abhor....at least in these first official images











...

[herr_oberst]

Organic!

Rear diffuser hints at some enormous ground-effects tunnels.

[tctnd]

Looks as silly and ugly as the current crop of athletic shoes.
regards,
Phil

[javadog]

Originally Posted by tctnd

Looks as silly and ugly as the current crop of athletic shoes.

I agree. Needlessly busy styling, compared with the original. Gordon Murray would probably not approve.

JR

[nota]

p-4 it ain't

[motion]

Me likey. Looks like its spent a lot of time in a wind tunnel. If you look at a McLaren F-1 car, you will see that it is also very busy, by virtue of necessity.

[onewhippedpuppy]

At least it's distinctive. The MP4-12C is one of the most boring supercars that I've ever seen. I certainly wouldn't call it pretty though. In my dream world I think I'd still rather have a Huyara.

[flipper35]

Form may follow function, but it looks like it was designed to appeal to 12 year old boys.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by tctnd

Looks as silly and ugly as the current crop of athletic shoes.
regards,
Phil

Beat me too it. Maybe McLaren should make shoes.

[porsche4life]

At least it's distinctive. The MP4-12C is one of the most boring supercars that I've ever seen. I certainly wouldn't call it pretty though. In my dream world I think I'd still rather have a Huyara.

Big + 1. Hard to beat the huyara...

[TOM RUE]

Looks like some nike tennis shoes I have

[RWebb]

anyone care to discuss its functional aspects?

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by javadog

I agree. Needlessly busy styling, compared with the original. Gordon Murray would probably not approve.

JR

Huh? What are all the strakes on the doors of a Mecca F1 then? The F1 is loaded with vents, and creases. Its a very busy design. I guess its old enough you've gotten used to it, but to a younger guy who didn't know what one was for a great deal of his life, the original is fairly busy.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

There will only ever be one F1

[chapo]

Already been done. It's called a Melted Mosler.

[chapo]

Called

[aap1966]

F1: Understated elegance

P1: Trying too hard.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Tervuren

Huh? What are all the strakes on the doors of a Mecca F1 then? The F1 is loaded with vents, and creases. Its a very busy design. I guess its old enough you've gotten used to it, but to a younger guy who didn't know what one was for a great deal of his life, the original is fairly busy.

Have another look at both cars. There is one strake on each door of the original, in the middle of the one main vent on each side. The other vents are where they need to be, to fulfill a technical function.

Now look at the new one. There are lines all over the car that have no technical reason to be there. The stylists just went wild. Think all of those curves have a purpose? No, they are there for no real reason at all.

Simple shapes age well. Busy ones do not. The new car looks like a Pasadena Art Center sketch.
JR

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Cool but way too cluttered looking IMHO.

That said I certainly wouldn't turn down the chance to own one - or two.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by javadog

Now look at the new one. There are lines all over the car that have no technical reason to be there. The stylists just went wild. Think all of those curves have a purpose? No, they are there for no real reason at all.

I disagree with this. I think this car was designed in a wind tunnel; I believe the aesthetics were given a lower priority than the technical function of the bodywork. There's no rear wing, the huge holes in the doors appear to be two scoops to me, one to vent the front brakes the other to feed cool air to the engine and the rear brakes. The front end was obviously designed to reduce lift and direct cool air to hot surfaces.

McLaren knows aero; I sincerely doubt that the engineers on this car let the stylists run wild and design curves that have no functional purpose at all.

I don't love the car (the headlights, for one, make it look too cartoonish,) but I'm sure that in the hands of Jensen Button this car is scary fast.

I'd like to see one up close. I bet it looks tidy and of-a-purpose, and I would also bet it's smaller than it seems in pictures.