McLaren 650S faster than F1 hypercar

The new McLaren 650S is faster than the iconic McLaren F1 hypercar, according to its maker. McLaren says the 650S coupé, which will cost £195,250, can reach 62mph in 3.0sec and 124mph in 8.4sec – a full second faster than the F1. The Spider will cost £215,250 and matches the coupé to 62mph but is 0.2sec slower to 124mph.

The new McLaren 650S is capable of hitting 207mph and can cover the standing quarter mile in 10.5sec, which is 0.6sec less than the F1. The car is on display at the Geneva motor show, where a new 650S Spider has also been revealed.

Despite the 650S's prodigious performance, McLaren claims 24.2mpg on the combined cycle and 275g/km of CO2. McLaren says it is one of the most efficient cars in its class.

The car is closely related to the 12C but is £20,000 more expensive and closer in styling to the recently launched £860,000 P1 hybrid hypercar. It also incorporates a basket of detailed revisions that improve performance in all areas but major on driver involvement.

The changes are designed to counter criticism of the 12C from early owners, and to incorporate relevant know-how gained from the P1, which is now in its delivery phase.

McLaren's 650S gets more standard equipment than the 12C, including lightweight forged alloy wheels, LED headlights, an Alcantara interior, carbon-ceramic brakes, revised sat-nav and a DAB radio as part of a sophisticated, screen-based audio system. The car also gets new, wider ‘650’-design lightweight wheels and Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres.

Options include fixed-back carbon racing seats based on those in the P1, an electric steering column to aid ingress and egress, a rear parking camera and carbonfibre trims.

The 650S, whose name reflects the enhanced output of its 3.8-litre turbo V8 in metric horsepower, is likely to be portrayed widely as the 12C they’d like to have built in the first place.

However, McLaren insists that the original model will stay in production at £176,000 and will find ready sales in markets where aggressive taxation swells ex-factory prices.

Sales volume for the two cars is expected to stay at about 1200 units a year. The big sales boost for McLaren will come after next year’s launch of a £120,000 mid-engined McLaren, codenamed P13.

The 650S is instantly recognisable from its P1-style all-LED headlights and other cues that are part of a new McLaren design style language created under chief designer Frank Stephenson. McLaren says that the 650S is faithful an early promise made by group chairman Ron Dennis to launch a substantial model every year. About 25 per cent of the 650S’s components are different from those in the 12C.

The engine has modifications to its cylinder head and pistons and adopts new McLaren engine management software. Power climbs to 641bhp from the 616bhp of later 12Cs. There is an even greater boost to torque, which now peaks at 500lb ft, a figure developed between 3000rpm and 7000rpm.