New McLaren F1 begins testing

The web is a buzz this morning on news that the successor to the Mclaren F1 is well underway. Autocar reports that official testing of McLaren Automotive’s new hypercar is now under way ahead of its 2014 launch. The spiritual successor to the iconic McLaren F1 aims to have the performance to eclipse every other hypercar, including the Bugatti Veyron, the upcoming Porsche 918 Spyder and the successor to the Ferrari Enzo.

McLaren insiders have confirmed that the first test of the ‘mega-Mac’ (it will get an MP4-12C-style alpha-numeric name in production) took place in Spain last month on closed roads before shifting to Germany for its development. Hot-weather testing has also taken place, most likely in Bahrain.

Earlier estimates of a price of around £400,000 now appear to be wide of the mark. Instead, a figure approaching £1 million seems a more likely estimate for each of the 500 units planned for the production run.