Published

McLaren Hybrid Tests on the Space Shuttle Runway

Yes, if you’re going to test a car that goes 250 mph, odds are you want something straight and smooth to run it on
#hybrid

Share

 

McLaren Speedtail

The McLaren Speedtail in-becoming. If nothing else, a wonderful image. (Photos: McLaren)

The image above is the McLaren Hyper-GT prototype ‘XP2’, a.k.a., Speedtail. The vehicle, which has just started production at the McLaren Production Center in Woking, UK, has just completed high-speed validation testing at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“The what?” you might wonder. (We did.)

McLaren Speedtail

 

Turns out that NASA built a runway for the Space Shuttle. It is three miles long and is so flat there is just 0.25-inch difference end-to-end.

And now it can be used for high-speed testing.

In the case of McLaren, test driver Kenny Brack ran the car at up to 250 mph on the track more than 30 times.

The Speedtail, which has a carbon fiber body and is the most aerodynamically efficient McLaren ever built, is a hybrid. A hybrid that produces 1,055 hp and 848 lb-ft.

It has a straight-line acceleration (which is what the runway is all about) of 0 to 186 mph in less than 13 seconds and the aforementioned top speed of 250 mph.

This is a plug-in hybrid except that it doesn’t have a plug: it uses inductive, or wireless, charging for the battery.

Incidentally: there will be just 106 of these vehicles built.

McLaren Speedtail

 

RELATED CONTENT

  • McLaren Senna: Remarkable Numbers

    This is the first McLaren Senna delivered in North America, a car that was delivered to Michael Fux, who is described as an “entrepreneur, philanthropist and renowned car collector known for his eclectic taste”: The car’s emerald green body color is actually called “Fux Green” by McLaren Special Operations, which provided bespoke options on the vehicle for Mr.

  • On Automotive: From Supercars to Supply Chains to Stamping

    New tech developments in automotive ranging from the e-motor for a McLaren supercar to how Volkswagen Group is using artificial intelligence for supply chain monitoring to how Nissan is stamping without dies

  • Honda Rocks, Too

    Maybe it has something to do with the start of summer.

Gardner Business Media - Strategic Business Solutions