CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS - McLaren P1, the road and track test.

you good evening everyone and a very warm welcome to the McLaren p1 this is XP 7 which is the car for instance we took it to the desert and drove it through Death Valley on horrendous racetracks out there this car has been around the world about five times been in the Arctic Circle in the in the desert doing hot and cold weather testing it's been on racetracks can we summarize it in one word is it a it's a classic is it well used yes by some of the worst people you could think is it the girl that sits in the corner of the pub it might be but being unkind to it it still has a market value of a million quid doesn't it yeah it still it's still a hell of a car but this this particular example is all we've got left really I mean we've done well all of the cars have been sold we've got very very few cars around us how many X P's exist and currently now I'm not too sure not not very many because some of those XPS were crash test cars as well so I know of probably two that are runners but you know this is basically a runner that we have tried to build into something that is production representative we've got P P 3 here which is a later built pre-production car which is a little bit more representative interior-wise put me through this engine and gearbox so the block everyone says oh it's just 12c engine ok it there's there's commonalities but it's a different block it's different part number isn't it yeah it has to be on paper it looks similar 3.8 litre twin-turbo but in actual fact the combined talk that this powertrain is giving out is way greater than the 12c it's 903 very coarse power it's just a different level so the block itself yes it still got the same capacity on the internal combustion engine as the 12c but we have bolted a rather powerful emote ER electric motor to that more or less if you'd imagine where starter motor goes yeah so we don't have a starter motor we've got an e motor instead so the electric motor works as the starter yeah and it also generates as well which then adds to the petrol engine drives through the path through the through the gearbox air isn't it it's it's very clever because it keeps weight down why have two things doing that can do the same your curse system fails that means you can't start your engine that isn't it but no not really no savings but if you if your battery fails you wouldn't better start a car through a starter motor either good answer same difference so it's just it's a different casting yep but is it different casting purely because you've got the emo to graph it on the side or because actually you need more strength in the block yeah both both the coupling of the internal combustion engine with bigger turbos so we again on the face of it with turbos you're using turbos to generate increased torque and power from the petrol engine but to get out of turbo lag world this is where the clever clever stuff happens with the hybrid system on this car so we obviously add the power and torque from the electric motor to give additional headline performance but where the car is totally transformed is by using the hybrid power the electric motor power to talk film so that's the braze torque so I've been using augmentation which is terribly Dickensian but talk fill is is I love that phrase so that's an eclair anism isn't it I don't know just tell me is it they basically sit there with Excel and you go with light talk there yeah we just do it this is where my pedal is going to be and this is what I want for a talk so do you think that the phrase turbo lag doesn't apply to this car oh absolutely do you have no concept so I've even recently driven some of the most highly regarded v12 normally aspirated engines and to put it all back into context because sometimes you lose sight of what really is the ultimate and the the the throttle response the the torque delivery that you have with this beats absolutely anything I've ever experienced the only thing that comes close is a Formula One car is because the court is the course attire standard is it the only tire yeah the Corsa tyres the standard so is there a winter tire for it you can you can fit a winter tire on there and I've driven on that in in sweet what's Lionel's partner winter tire like this fun actually yeah it's good you love it beside laser all the time it's so pigeonhole me I know what you like I'm not generic not the widest rear tire is it no no no it's not but this is a road car yeah so you drive a car like this on the road with wide tires canvas it follows canvas feels horrible it rains it's a nightmare so you know this is actually this is a real Road car you know if we wanted to build a racing car we would have built a racing car which would have been different this is a about as close as you're going to get to Formula One performance on the road but with a lot of Road thoughts gone in so you could if you were so inclined you could run this like a 12c yeah absolutely so we've got on the dashboard all the modes normal sport and track same as you're used to the radio it's got radio it's got sat-nav you'll be pleased to know it's got heated seats it's got heated seats great HVAC how's it it's great air conditioning yeah which is very handy actually now look chassis wise have we got the same basic front to rear horizontally linked system as a 12c yes high level this has got a very similar suspension system to the 12c so there's no anti-roll bars the corners are connected hydraulically we have a damn adaptive damping if you've got that same an anti squat bar at the rear that's fitted on the 12c because Asbury no not got that and I don't know so no Zed bar does not not but the difference business bar sorry so the difference with this is that a lot of the actual heap spring rate is controlled hydraulically so that's where the big difference starts to come in so not only are we can are we springing the car more hydraulically yeah but we can also adjust the ride height of the car so in normal sport and track modes you're at this fixed ride height normal mode in this car is quite similar in ride to say sport mode in the 12c yeah so still actually way more comfortable than most and you can get over a sleeping policeman in London we've got lift vehicle lift you can have in all modes as well you can just lift it but in fact this is a this is a sensible ride height for just normal right row drive here and speed humps and so on when you go up the mode to sport to track your stiffening the damping system say similarly to the way we do it on the 12c you changing the active Aero configuration on the powertrain mode you're also changing the gearshift character and so on but the real game changer with this car is the race mode button so you can press the race mode button the transition takes about 30 seconds to take place but it's quite a transformation so it's a massive hydraulic event underneath the skin the car lowers 50 mil the spring rates stiffen considerably because you're really now wanting to control your Aero platform give me a percentage roughly I think it's something like 300 percent but it's not a fixed number because it is bringing the front of the car that much lower makes that dirty great big splitter seem to work you bring the splitter into play but to balance that we have active arrow flaps inside the diffusers just behind the front splitter to control that to stop the car being to pitch sensitive on braking for instance and at high speed but to balance that when you lower it we extend the rear wing to about this high it looks cool but it actually really does do something we generate something like 600 kilos of downforce which is you know up there with you know current gt3 racing cars all of that downforce going through you know row tires a big challenge but again working through that with Pirelli we've come up with very strong constructions that still give you some ride comfort but can live with that downforce and the cornering loads and performance we're putting it ok and for the avoidance of doubt because there's been a so much forum conversation about this I don't actually care that you've not reached a lap time it's kind of done business it's up to you guys rightly or wrongly that's your decision but there are lots of rumors about the fact that the car wouldn't complete an entire lap with the curse and that's the reason why you've not released time can you debunk that now yeah definitely yeah yeah I mean absolutely that that's the whole reason for going there zarab our main reason for going to the Nordschleife was to actually be able to tune it so that we could do that it is one of the areas I'm most amazed by because it is probably one of the biggest challenges for a new small car company to take on the hybrid powertrain project and it is one of those things that really came together for me anyway quite last minute as I explained we had dynamic mules of various shapes and sizes for quite some time that I was working on and it was relatively late in the project that we bolted in the proper latest and greatest hybrid system and literally tuning it so that it just does that lap you could you can you can make it last longer if you want and get less out of it or or get the maximum out of it over that particular that profile so yeah it does it and it does it well and it delivers full punch all the way down the straight you arrive at the end of the straight there at a decent pace makes that you know let that left kink at the end of the straight a bit of a challenge but it is flat that kink yeah just yeah not every day of the week this is extremely exciting as you can imagine because not many have been able to drive the p1 let me tell you how we're going to do this because as ever it's quite rushed we're going to go out on the road and experience the car on the street because I think we have to do that don't we so we'll drive it on the road but ordinarily I'm not gonna try and go far because I suspect I'll get arrested I'd only get banged up in abbadabba it wouldn't be good then we're going to come back and then the sun's going to go down and then they're gonna light up the afternoon circuit like they do for the f1 race and we're going to test the car on the circuit at night which is going to prove quite testing for jf who's behind lens and Anil as well so the video is going to go from light to dark but I should come wait so what can I say in the softest down the road the car rides pretty well it's firm I commonly tell you much more math because I mean having roads are so smooth but it's difficult to say on a British beer oh I'm sure it's going to be busy is the word but you know what do you expect it's doing really nice pleasantly light I like it I'm looking forward to feeling that it as it waits up with speed on the circuit thing that can be really Pleasant the curve physically doesn't feel that big that's this quite interesting for me this traditionally the hypercar supercar type of vehicle he has been so-called it has to be there for insurance reasons traditionally that type of car has carried with it almost deliberate love intimidation you know it's being why you can't see a bloody thing you know you get in it they already do not want to drive it very fast because it's terrifying but with this car is different the skull is really low at the top so you can see out of it the winner has worked really really well the rearview mirror is not as pointless as you might think I'm not intimidated and physically it doesn't feel big I feel like you're sitting between the lanes and not worried about so I suppose for me that's the most important thing by the road manners is not a common initially intimidating your eyes bank will look properly but that's the number turning around you can really look for in the p1 I'm sitting in a traffic jam in a 900 horsepower twin turbocharged vehicle in Abu Dhabi I didn't think this would be my first experience of the people I thought to be on a track roaring away but this is the ultimate test of this car isn't it as a road car we do racing cars as well they race in Formula One and the GT racing this is a very very fast road car has to do this you can't do is no one buying so first and foremost it has to be able to drive the inner city in a quite challenging city R that later it has also to drive on the track and you see that too so this is xp7 as we said it's a it's a prototype vehicle so in terms of mph it's a bit noisier than the customer cars going to be yeah yeah I mean this is the car that's been up in the Arctic Circle in the desert you know hot car on racetracks it's been really used and abused so you know one or two of the interior panels were missing what a lot of logging kit in this car which is creating noise paths and there's a lot of flimsy things that are bolted in here that obviously not standard now I have to say my driving impressions are but from low speed it's just as easy to drive as 12c isn't it it doesn't feel any different actually there the way that the throttle pedal reacts brake pedal all feels entirely natural and very very manageable there is there's no suggestion that what lurks beneath it frankly those beat is that taking a long time yeah yeah from the concept to to date now we spent as much time there for the calibration of and tuning of all of your controls as we know speed as we did on track and on the Linea so steering brake pedal feel and response throttle pedal feel and response really important in traffic obviously really important the track but both are equally valuable so what I put away now how much electric car am I using you're using a small amount just to immediately feel the talk again take away the turbo lag if you like but then once you're into your throttle pedal travel you're not asking for the full amount of torque and horsepower from the combined petrol engine and deep motor so effectively you're then immediately really just been starting to use petrol engine if you're using for instance and probably a typical recharging situation would be learn about 4000 rpm mid throttle pedal that would then start to regenerate the battery power and replenish that is there any point where it's just combustion engine and no electricity at all well once you've got prep at potential as steady throttle pedal yesso constant trouble petrol pedal position so meet mint gas pedal one like I said if you're if you're insane fourth gear 4000 rpm just have three or 50% throttle pedal in fact what you're doing not only are you not using the your child like you're charging it and you'll see that with a couple of arrows as it's like a chevron on that charge bar there and you'll see that that's charging the property of entry so you'll still be able to accelerate drive the car it won't slow the car down you still got acceleration left but in fact because you're not asking for the full combined talk is taking the opportunity just to flip a battery on so you don't have to break you don't have to do mode we've got for street driving and Abu Dhabi is not the best place to come and drive because the roads are either straight covered in dust or in town like we are now the ride in in the softer suspension mode which is normal ya feel it feels firm but doesn't feel crazy at all it's not crashing the suspensions all rubber bush so you know there is compliance there and it you've said that in terms of your strategy it's similar to a 12c in its sport mode is the most common mode of this car yeah and every and then we go up to the track mode next we've got school left and then you go track after that it says where it's small the track yeah so normal small tracks and same concept and as the 12c just moved up a notch basically in terms of the ride and handling to firm up the ride but you don't just do that for the sake of it as the ride gets further into sport and track you're also adding a bit more stiffness and control and support in cornering adding a bit more of a direct handling feel a bit more renewable feel as well and the steering weights changing steering weight goes up slightly but primarily the biggest change in the steering weight is when you're going from very low sitting speed parking through as you put as you pick up road speeds and then regardless of what mode you're in yeah because at low speed I really like this this feels nice and fluid Monsoor now in automatic mode I mean real part from the fact that there is this thing lurking behind me which is suggesting is got a lot of power is very very um look ordinary is the wrong word okay but it's usable yeah I love all the nakedness at the back while I practice a case and study is that technical it's a bit like hydraulic using or electrical is it it's like a really it's like a very very sexy lady wearing a short skirt it's Sharon Stone the automated equipment of the cameltoe I have a real problem with this car though driving slowly I know it's cotton nothing every bit of power and I just want to give it some and I just know I'm going to end up in jail if I do so you're driving you to a restaurant so you can in a minute where we are now - we just got up I've just got to be patient having on I giving something a little bit of time fill it with a little bit so you luckily we've got the brakes to match that imagine poor boys and girls it is axe polishing oh I thought they'd have going this I can't wait up yours my lads of spank this thing on a circuit to buy that's what it's built for you could record a two-hour film on the technical detail of this car alone its 3.8 liter motor is fed by two larger turbos in the 12c they work at 2.4 bar to give 737 horsepower and 531 foot-pounds the electric motor adds 179 horsepower and 192 foot-pounds dry weight is 1,395 kilograms kerb around 1450 front brakes are 390 millimeter carbon ceramics by Akebono with a unique silicon carbide facing 380 mill at the rear acceleration is from the world of Traum really zero to 125 miles an hour and 6.8 seconds 0 to 186 in 16.5 seconds i'll say that again 0 to 186 miles an hour in 16.5 seconds top speed is limited to 217 miles an hour and it'll do 6 miles on electric power alone I quite liked all that in full arrow mode sitting 50 millimeters lower than usual and with the rear wing deployed 300 millimeters it offers 600 kilograms of downforce at 160 miles an hour the car is a study in carbon weight saving because the electrical systems add around 200 kilograms the front screen is thinner than the 12 C's the brakes are lighter than normal ceramics the cabin is bare the seats are lighter and the occupants but they sit closer than a 12c for better center of mass you could spend hours looking at the thing really hours okay peeps it's the moment that I've been waiting for for a long time this is p1 on a track this thing is a whole new ballgame so here to start just being in race mode because that's the mode that counts I've got 916 horsepower and this thing weighs 1,395 kilograms it is a whole new thing it's a very very good thing it's extraordinary first of all the power train well they call it talk fill because it has an effective power band of about 7000 rpm it's just wowzers the whole time I've got the traction control on at the moment but it allows me quite a bit of slip steering is just lovely lovely lovely lovely coming onto the main straight now breaking performance it's just different worlds you lean on the ABS then you find this another extra bit of rating Wow quite a bit of slip as you can see even with it in this mode traction just come out the corners boot and just go straight line for me better than a Veyron feels much more severe and it feels agile and light and he just goes it absolutely screams the weight distribution spot-on I haven't driven a car like this before I really haven't because there isn't a car like this it's a different league even to a 918 the tire the tire is a limiting factor in race mode we look for Aero grip now as well which is a whole new thing Wow it is a new thing it's a new thing Wow okay peeps now I'm gonna I'm gonna do something I've always wanted to do I'm going to turn the traction control off on a car with 916 horsepower okay okay item 16 horsepower you can even just sort of bucket anyone soon my lord where have you been on my life p1 this is a new thing you shouldn't be able to do this I mean my point under the 16 horsepower it's just a new thing Oh are you bucket in watch this bucket in Jesse's got balance drift go and nine hundred or five this thing is a freak it's genius I've not driven a car like it I have to just be quiet a decent voiceover I'm just consumed by how good this thing is and breathe and breathe and breathe it's a weak excuse I know but talking as you spank a p1 is quite difficult and on that final smokey lap it suddenly dawned on me that I might not ever drive a p1 again and I wanted to enjoy it not just jabber at a camera this car is easier to drive than a 12c it's great big turbocharged engine has throttle response to rival a Ferrari f12 it has an open differential but clever use of the rear brakes replicates an LSD and it feels completely mechanical and intuitive to drive and drift brake steer means you can pile into turns trail braking all the way and the only limiting factor is the tire it's a brilliant Street track combo from Pirelli but eventually it has to give in to all that energy and the toys are that great fun to manual DRS to stall the rear wing and manual I pass to give that night rider turbo boost sham I didn't have the spare mental capacity to use them you see the p1 is just that fast it's a whole new thing guys it's just a whole new thing because it's a car that can be driven in a straight line and provide the most extraordinary speed and accuracy and responsiveness and just raw performance and then it's also a car that you can grab by the scruff and throw around I can't leave them saying this but you can throw it around it's a whole new thing and I'm a bit I'm slightly embarrassed that I'm saying that because I'm sure everyone thinks well the 90 teams do you think you said that about three months ago but such is the rate of progress that is a new thing you know I've not driven a car that can do that because until now I don't think there is a car that can do that I think we need to do some voiceover because I think my on board but just absolute pants I think I was just yelping in squealing but there we go that was the experience of a lifetime frankly what a car can I go and get drunk now

Channel: Chris Harris on Cars

Views: 1,372,789

Keywords: chris harris, chris harris on cars, mclaren p1, p1, f1, porsche 918, 918, ferrrai laferrari, hypercar, supercar, road test review, oversteer, powerslide, slide, McLaren (Business Operation), Road, Porsche, top speed

Id: ufVQ-UKZbro

Length: 28min 29sec (1709 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 26 2015

Reddit Comments

[u/5T1GM4]

Do the taillights look like that because the LEDs are close to the camera frame-rate?

[u/goodasdopamine]

Whats the TLDW of why the car is amazing?