The McLaren Senna is a divisive car. It’s light, powerful, and not all that pretty. Some people hate the looks, others like it because it’s going to be so freaking fast. McLaren wasn’t done when it made the road car though. It decided to see what would happen if it didn’t have to worry about safety regulations, emissions, and other such frippery. It made the Senna more extreme.




Meet the McLaren Senna GTR Concept, here to subjugate physics with brute force.


On the looks front it’s still... challenging, sure, but everything is the way it is for a reason. See that giant wing? Like the road car it’s active—it’ll give you the right aero for the right situation so the whole damn thing will act as an airbrake if you need to stop, lower itself in DRS mode for high speed straightlining, and give the right amount of angle for you when things get twisty.



Photo : Alex Goy

Its 4.0-liter V8 turbo motor has been given more power as well, now producing in the region of 814 brake horsepower. Because, y’know, the more sane Senna (if you could ever call it that) only manages 789 BHP. Pah.

You also get more torque to play with than the non-GTR Senna’s 590 lb-ft, the final figure’s coming soon. The 0-62 mph times and top speeds aren’t relevant here though, this is all about getting the fastest lap time.


Under the skin there are a few changes as well. You’ve got a “race-style” transmission, revised double wishbone suspension, and slick Pirellis to get you going as well. McLaren reckons that it’ll be its quickest car around a track, bar the Formula One car, and presumably the one without that Honda engine.

Photo : Alex Goy


Those pesky restrictions the road car has to contend with aren’t an issue here, which is why there’s a massive overhang at the front, and a big ‘ol splitter firing out of the rear. It means air can flow freer and cleaner around the car, shaving seconds off times. A good thing, all told.



The road car’s flush-with-the-body tailpipes are gone, leaving a sort of… space. The pipes themselves have moved to either side of the car just behind the doors. The hot air they fire out is guided under the body, which is pretty sick. Better still, a McLaren rep confirmed that they will indeed spit flames. Good.




On the weight front, McLaren expects it’ll be about the same as the road car, 2,641 lbs. Basically nothing, then.

Photo : Alex Goy


The GTR was part of the Senna plan from the off. With P1 it wasn’t. The Senna looks the way it does for a reason—it’s the most hardcore, focused car the company has ever built and the laws of physics mean that if it wants to go faster than anything that’s been before it needs to look the way it does. For a road car that’s challenging; for a track-only car it’s a huge bonus, and it was all intended from day one.



Only 75 will be built and by the end of the first Geneva press day they’ll likely all be sold. Oh, and it’s a concept because, I dunno, reasons?


The full fat Senna GTR and final figures will be with us soon, but not right now. Because also reasons.



Photo : McLaren


Photo : McLaren

Photo : McLaren


Photo : McLaren



