I want to discuss torque-fill. Buried within the multilayered PR prattle concerning the validity of McLaren's $1.15 million projectile lies technology that will profoundly alter the way performance cars deliver their treats. And in Woking, England, it's called torque-fill.

Chief test driver Chris Goodwin casually drops the phrase as we're discussing the calibration work needed to rationalize the P1's twin-turbo V8 (727 hp at 7300 rpm, 531 lb-ft at 4000) and its electric motor (177 hp, 192 lb-ft). "We just choose the torque curve we want, and someone with a large forehead taps a keyboard and delivers it," he says. The joys of being an analog operator in a digital world. The process is, of course, massively complicated, but the result is distilled into the most perfect McLaren-speak—brutal brevity. Torque-fill. Imagine Ron Dennis saying it over breakfast.

There is so much to appreciate in this car: the sheer velocity, the compact dimensions, the total disregard for some meaningless top speed. But above all is the implementation of electricity in a new, post-Prius paradigm—one that involves going very fast. Without that electric motor, the P1 wouldn't be able to run turbochargers that puff at a significant 34.8 psi: The turbos are bigger than those on the McLaren 12C and so take much longer to spool up. That deficiency is patched by the instantaneous output of the P1's electric motor. The powertrain computer, thanks to the guy with the forehead, seamlessly blends whatever grunt is available from the engine with whatever is needed from the electric motor, all to deliver the torque you've requested with your right foot.

In other words, torque-fill.

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The P1's block is an all-new casting, partly to allow the electric motor to be strapped to its side, but also to increase strength. The resulting total output is shockingly vast: 903 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque.

McLaren can't put an exact figure on the weight penalty for its KERS hybrid system, but something north of 400 lbs seems a fair guess. To offset this gain, the P1's dietary regime is extreme. Thinner windshield glass saves around 8 lbs over the 12C's windshield; the carbon tub is a development of the smaller Mac's and weighs just 198 lbs; the wheels are made from a new aluminum alloy and, despite being wider than the 12C's rims, are lighter still. The cabin is bare carbon. The body panels are pure carbon. The exhaust system is pure Inconel and weighs only 37 lbs.

Unsurprisingly, the P1 is a tech fetishist's dreamboat. Everything is lighter and stronger and done solely in the interest of being better to drive. Not faster. Better to drive.

This key, but subtle, shift from the usual hypercar bluster is worth celebrating. The P1 is limited to 217 mph because McLaren saw no need for it to go faster. The car's responses have been tuned for the driver's delectation, but the natural corollary of removing so much weight and providing so much motive force is speed. As a result, speed has arrived through a quest for an unfettered driving experience and not just for the sake of speed itself.

I like all of those points. But they mean nothing coming from the mouths of people employed in Woking. You have to drive it.

After absorbing all the talk of Nürburgring lap times and standing-start acceleration figures that place the P1 in a category of its own (until the LaFerrari arrives, that is), it is somehow fitting to first meet the thing on public roads. After all, many organizations can make a fast car, but making a fast car that can be driven slowly is more difficult. Knowing what the P1 should be capable of and then pootling along at 30 mph in traffic, leaving the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission to shift for itself, it seems inconceivable that the car should not only be docile but also so amenable to gentle inputs.

McLaren has clearly learned much from the 12C process, as the new Akebono carbon-ceramic brakes have a softness at the top of the pedal that many rivals have failed to match. Likewise for the throttle pedal, which can easily be trusted to deliver tiny quantities of performance. But what's really striking is the lack of intimidation. The cowl is so low that the forward view is exceptional. It's a departure from the supercar norm, with no sensation of claustrophobia or imposing width.

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The P1's ride is firm with the suspension set to Normal, but the roads in Abu Dhabi, where we tested the car, are so smooth that I really can't tell you how busy things become in Sport mode. Certainly firmer, but I suspect not terminally so. The suspension itself is a development of the 12C's clever hydraulically-linked system, but with hydraulic springs and the removal of the anti-dive Z-bar at the rear. Even on the road, it gives a greater sense of connection than the 12C, and it feels more like a conventional spring and damper arrangement. That's a compliment, by the way.

Cabin width is tight, headroom is good, the outside mirrors are suitably panoramic, and despite having a nose-lifting device fitted standard, the clearance for that expensive-looking front splitter is actually better than that of the new Porsche 911 GT3. It's an easy car to three-point turn, and ... you know what? I've had enough of telling you how good the P1 is at going slow. It's very good. But it's far, far better at going fast.

The southern loop of the Yas Marina Formula 1 circuit is not the ideal place to explore the dynamic capabilities of the fastest car you've ever driven, mainly because its walls lurk close to the track edge. But it has a decent straight and two very fast turns, perfect for testing McLaren's claim of over 1300 lbs of downforce at just over 160 mph with wings fully deployed.

We begin with a couple of laps to confirm that, in its blue-collar Normal-mode setting, the P1 is completely unhinged. The full 903 hp does its best to push the rear Pirellis wide, but the ESP system allows only a tiny amount of slip, and the car feels so much faster than anything I've driven that I don't really know where to begin. What impresses most is the sense of connection—steering, brakes, throttle, all are immediate and intuitive. Where the 12C could be accused of being aloof, the P1 is dialed-in.

VIEW THESE: Photos: McLaren P1 First Drive

Into Sport mode: a chance to feel firmer spring rates and more steering weight; then push the Boost button to decouple the electric motor from the fossil engine. Now we're into child's-fantasy territory: a steering wheel button to add 177 electric hp when you require, and another button, marked 'DRS', to move the rear wing to a stall position, la Formula 1, reducing drag. All great fun, but I'm working hard enough to compute the otherworldly braking and deal with the extra hip wiggle from the reduced level of ESP intervention, and I happily leave the boosting to the computer. You can feel the DRS working above 140 mph, though. When it does, you just grin.

Into Track mode next: 30 seconds stationary as the ride height slams 2 inches lower, bringing the front splitter into play; the rear wing sprouts 11.8 inches to balance the aerodynamics; the P1 moves from aggressive to pointedly antagonistic. Spring rates increase 300 percent, the ESP allows enough slip for million-dollar collisions, and the P1, already alive, goes feral. The power delivery is the same, but the extra chassis agility and slip mean you play with the right pedal more, tapping it mid-corner to agitate the car as you wish. And only then do you realize that you're driving a heavily turbocharged 3.8-liter V8 with the response of a naturally aspirated V12. It's witchcraft; it's compelling. Worship at the altar of torque-fill.

I push as hard as I dare, and the car just keeps revealing more performance, more enjoyment, more of everything I'd hoped it would offer. The 15.4-inch front discs are just astonishing—you can brake the car right into the apex with real anger. Fade wasn't even a possibility during our cool nighttime run. And then I switched off everything and tried to fathom what a 903-hp mid-engine coupe with no locking rear differential would be like shorn of its nannying electronics. The car came alive even further. It's far more amenable than a 12C, happy to be provoked into slides with mid-corner throttle lifts, then have them sustained with doses of the accelerator. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the P1 would have such a multilayered character or that it would reveal itself so willingly.

More gratifyingly, the P1 drips with personality. From the naked rear mechanicals to the whoops of boost and intake snort, it's an event like no other. I was terrified that McLaren's top-line supercar would revel in its own obsolescence and simply prove that we don't need cars of its type. Instead it heralds a new future for performance driving and delivers an experience beyond parallel. At $1.15 million, it's a good value.

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Not faster. Better to drive.

McLaren P1

Price : $1,150,000

$1,150,000 Powertrain: 3.8-liter hybrid V-8, 903 hp, 664 lb-ft (combined); RWD, 7-speed automatic

3.8-liter hybrid V-8, 903 hp, 664 lb-ft (combined); RWD, 7-speed automatic 0–62 mph: 2.8 sec

2.8 sec Weight : 3375 lb (est)

3375 lb (est) Top Speed: 217 mph

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