First Drive: McLaren Senna

‘Ultimate’ is a word you’ll encounter a lot in discussion about the McLaren Senna. The P1 was the first Ultimate Series, described by McLaren as the ‘ultimate pioneer’ thanks to its hybrid-assisted powertrain. The pending BP23 will be the ultimate road car McLaren, leaving the Senna as the ultimate track car.

Thankfully we need not dwell on the obsessive number crunching and (admittedly fascinating) technical story. This is all about driving it, and on a track chosen for its emotional link with the man after which it is named. Not that McLaren needs to work the latter too hard, the job of making it worthy of Senna’s legacy a challenge the engineers have approached with gusto.

The basic layout of the cabin will be familiar to anyone who’s driven a recent McLaren, albeit stripped back to the absolute minimum. For this track outing we’re suited and booted in race clobber, up to and including fireproof overalls and HANS device. With the huge dihedral door opened it feels very much like being strapped into a racing car, though the finish is indeed worthy of a £750,000 road car.

The distinctive glass panels in the doors stop it feeling too claustrophobic but as soon as you select Race mode and wait for the car to settle into its lower, track-only suspension setting peripheral vision becomes secondary. Even the dash display folds away to just the bare minimum of rev counter and digital speedo, the message clear that your full and undivided attention needs to be on the driving.

Boy, does it ever. The 720S could hardly be accused of being slow off the mark but feels like a truck in comparison with the Senna. Where there’s a touch of lag in the 720’s road-optimised 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 this heavily uprated one erupts with ferocity even the P1 can’t match. Indeed, the Senna has a better power to weight ratio and accelerates from 0-124mph a whole second faster while at the same time developing significantly more downforce. The soundtrack is still more industrial than inspirational but, frankly, you’ve got more to be thinking about once the turbos spool up.

The idea of all that power going to the rear wheels might sound scary but with that giant rear wing pressing the sticky Pirellis into the track there’s incredible traction in all but the slowest corners. And in the faster ones like the scary left-hander at the end of the infield straight or the seemingly endless final Parabolica Ayrton Senna (that man again…) you can be hard on the power and appreciate the counter-intuitive sensation of grip increasing with speed.

There’s an incredible range of technology doing all sorts of clever stuff to balance the aero, springs, anti-roll, traction and other systems. The clever bit is leaving you not to worry about it and enjoy how instantaneously the steering wheel, gearshift paddles and pedals react to your inputs. Because at these speeds this is where your attention needs to be.

It might look wild and scary but it’s actually the opposite on the track because you know exactly where you are with it. If the steering starts to lighten you know you’re reaching the limits of the front tyres; lift a fraction or trail the brakes in next time round and you can feel the weight transfer to the front for more grip. And if you do overcook it you’ll be ready and the drama will be over before it’s begun, a twitch that would require an armful of lock in a 720S requiring little more than a flick of the wrists in the Senna. You may not have Ayrton’s instincts or talent. But this car does a damned good job of making you feel like you have.

That it manages to be both breathtakingly fast and incredibly confidence inspiring is one of the most surprising things. That’s not to say it’s dumbed down or sanitised because the Senna makes very real physical and mental demands of its driver. More that if you’re willing to commit yourself you’ll find a car that responds in kind.

And one you can also drive on the road. Sure, there have been racing cars with numberplates before.

But nothing has narrowed the margin between supercar and racer to the extent of the Senna. For that alone it earns its ‘ultimate’ billing.

The Numbers:

Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto, rear-wheel drive

PS/Nm: 800/800

0-60mph: 2.7seconds

Top speed: 208mph

Price from: £750,000 before options (sold out)