McLaren's mistake were the comments Ron Dennis made at Geneva. They were obviously on a different tack at that point and he suggested the P1 "would beat all the records" (at the time there was no sub-7 production car record, save the Radicals) and set "a new benchmark" - most people hear that as a lap time. Now they have chosen not to deliver on that with exact specificity.

Outside of his comments this decision is no different than that of Ferrari who do not release times for their production cars at any circuit except for Fiorano and Lamborghini who don't seem to actually know what a racing circuit is. Where is the outrage over the pathetic and cowardly behavior of the Italians? They sure sell a lot of cars without Ring times anyway...

The car will be tested, there will be comparisons made. All in due time I am sure. Believe me - I am bummed we aren't getting on-board footage of the P1 lapping the Ring. I am sure it would be awesome and would tell us a lot more about the car than a string of numbers. This isn't a competition though, as actual competitions have rules and oversight - something terribly lacking from all these marketing campaign driven laps of the Ring where a team of engineers appears with a tweaked example of their product, taking liberties to enhance performance wherever they dare.

In your opinion, perhaps it would be better - the physical product and its performance capabilities do not change whatsoever regardless of anyone's opinion of it, and opinions are the only thing that could improve by releasing the time.

Yes - I note that the only manufacturer that consistently posts Ring lap times for their products are Porsche. Other manufacturers use a Ring lap time when they feel the need to make a statement about a specific product - Nissan with the GTR, Lexus with the LFA, Alfa recently with the 4C. McLaren's statement is "We achieved our goal of a sub-7:00 lap time." They later mentioned they comfortably beat that goal. That's pretty impressive but if you aren't willing to take them at their word without proof I don't think anyone can help you.

I have noticed the people who seem most up in arms over the situation are the ones who wouldn't have expected or would have preferred that McLaren not do well in the first place. Hmmmm...

Putting this much emphasis on something that doesn't really matter could be viewed quite the same way.

>8^)
ER

 

Me - well under 7:00. I wasn't there, but I believe the sources I have inside the company.

Again, it is a shame we haven't gotten to see the on-board video yet as it would be pretty mind-blowing.

>8^)
ER

 

Anyway, McLaren's main intention from the beginning was to make the best drivers's car and not necessarily the fastest around a race track, but as Erik said, I know and a few others here know that it beat 918's time by quite a big margin.

 

Until we other who are not connected and have personal friends we can trust inside mclaren like you to see some proof.. that sub 7 is in my books a fabrication..

I hope you understand that we can't take your word for it..

 

It's no secret that they've achieved a sub-seven-minute lap time since it's been mentioned in more than one magazine so far.

 

And they all got the info from mclarens pathetic press release on the matter which holds no proof..

 

It's like I said earlier - if you are not willing to take them at their word then I don't believe anyone can help you with your feelings.

McLaren aren't going to be goaded into releasing their actual time and evidence of said efforts just because a handful of people who likely do not support them in the first place are upset on the Internet.

PistonHeads have reported today that the P1 order book is now closed, so once again, why does any of this matter?

>8^)
ER

 

At the same time regardless of purchase orders and the money that Mclaren makes off the car, isn't it also somewhat of an engineering exhibition in which they show the world what they are capable of building?

I don't mind your argument but I don't think we can see the P1 as strictly a financial endeavor. The Buggati Veyron, for example, is a 1 million dollar + car which VW claims they lose money on every example sold. It was ultimately a display of the engineering capabilities of buggati, because they wanted to show the world that they could build the fastest (landspeed) production car in the world.

I feel like Mclaren's initial claims and goals in building the p1 aren't far off from Buggati's. They wanted to build a car which could claim to be the fastest track focused production road car ever made. Times/numbers matter, they are your factual evidence to support the claims that you make. So consequently when you make those claims, we (as fans/consumers/spectators) want to see a company like Mclaren deliver on their intentions. We want them to show us that they are indeed the greatest car company in the world, and that their product speaks to that. Isn't that what these "hypercars" are really all about? I don't think these are necessarily money makers, that what the MP4-12 is, and that's why they are building the new 911 competitor. That's not why they built the P1.

I'm not saying in any way that the P1 isn't capable of being the fastest production car in the world, because I believe that it very well could be. It's about delivering on your promises, and showing a larger market (the world) what your company is all about. I guess my biggest issue with mclaren is their relative incompetency in their press relations/release of this car.

Ultimately, they will continue to build spectacular cars and I commend them for that, I just wish that they would appease the people who love cars because of what they stand for, who respect their brand not because they will ever own one, but because they love what the mclaren mark stands for, the ultimate road going car.

-Josh

 

The difference is - Bugatti needed to present that proof to sell the car. In fact, they are still trying to sell those cars so they continue morphing the product repeatedly in an effort to keep the public's attention. And frankly, top speed is just about the most pointless performance statistic there ever could be. Impressive in engineering terms - useless in the real world.

McLaren have sold their cars (to people who don't live and die by Ring times) and so there is no need to put its capabilities on display specifically in a pissing match over lap times at the Ring. It is pretty clear that initially they thought they needed to do this - that would explain the buildup in Ron's comments in Geneva - but over these past 6 months or so as they filled their order book it became clear to them that was no longer the case. As evidenced by their recent decision and the statements than followed, they are now taking a decidedly different approach and the lumps for what some see are unfulfilled promises. Keep in mind though, this decision has been encouraged by their customers - the people who gave them large stacks of money for their product, many long before they had ever turned a wheel at the Ring.

For the rest of us, McLaren have released some pretty incredible performance stats for the P1 that should give anyone with knowledge of these types of cars a good indication of its overall capabilities. What is difficult to put into perspective is the performance data when coupled with 600kg of downforce - a figure Autocar referred to as "vaguely astonishing". Now when it comes to downforce, some manufacturers remain tight lipped while others simply make up a number, and many will quote their total at varying speeds - this all makes an apples to apples comparison rather difficult. This 600kg number is going to be significantly more than produced by the 918 or LaFerrari or any other current competitor in this segment. To think that with similar performance figures to the 918, less weight and significantly more downforce that the P1 would not be able to at least match the time of the 918 around the Ring is a bit foolhardy.

Anyway, there will certainly be future tests to showcase the P1s abilities so you will get the show you are looking for in due time. Someone might even be inclined to give it a go at the Ring, but I doubt we'll ever see a press release from McLaren that includes the 6:## time.

>8^)
ER

 

My god your logic is so flawed.
You act like we should thank them for letting us know the specs of their little secret.
What do they think they are the skunk works of ferrari who make bespoke one off cars for the likes of sultan of brunei and clapton?
Where no one cares or knows about the cars, but they get their money from their customer.
Why did they even release it with a whole shebang..if they want to be coy about it.
This is mclaren, mclaren who is initially a Formula 1 team, in the business of performance sports, this is mclaren automotive which would have been SHIT worth if it wasent for a certain car called F1, which goes down as a legend in history due to the fact that it KILLED the competition in performance tests, yet they shun performance tests today.
Those tests and measurements of their product that made them what they are, and made people ride their dick so hard that they defend this decision.

So thank you mclaren for givin us some little info..?
F no..they should thank us for showed interest.

Cause without the interest of the general public, those cars are worth nothing. As those who can afford it buy it cause the rest of us lusts for it.
If no one cares, they don't either.
Cause what is hypercar ownership if not a dick extension ultimately?
No one on gods green earth can use more than 3-500hp to its full potential on roads, let alone the race track due to lack of skills, or balls to play around with 1 million euro.

So yes it is in their very best interest to produce something that captures the awe of the public.

And there is nothing awesomme in pussying out of a Ring time..

Mclaren won't issue a time along the lines of 6:##, most likely cause it was a 7:## time

PS
And your logic that its lighter and has more downforce than the 918 so it is by default faster, yeah.. what can i say..i rest my case.