McLaren’s P1 to Have Over 900 Hybrid Horsepower

As is the current trend among top-tier sports car manufacturers, the McLaren P1 is also a hybrid. Hopefully by now the term “hybrid” isn’t a dirty word anymore as this car (and it’s contemporaries) are busy proving that batteries have a place in this brave new world of 900hp super cars. The electric motor contributes 176 hp to the car’s total, while the 3.8L twin-turbo V8 provides 727 horsepower. Yeah. That’s still pretty insane even without the hybrid bits.

The interesting thing is that the electric motor doesn’t constantly supply power to rear the wheels. The driver can turn on the extra power with a press of the button on their steering wheel. It’s kind of like the turbo button in an arcade racing game, or the push-to-pass button in an F1 car. McLaren’s included other F1-inspired tech as well. For instance, the P1 also has a Drag Reduction System that can reduce drag by 23% with a button press. Fancy.

While I don’t really expect to see the F1 stuff make it’s way down to production cars, the hybrid tech that McLaren, Porsche, and Ferrari are working on could. It would likely be expensive, but over time that would be less of an issue. Maybe someday we’ll see a Prius that doesn’t suck. Here’s to hoping.