McLaren F1 supercar could be resurrected in 2018 – report

After the original F1 with its three-seater layout, $1 million price tag and claim to fame as the fastest car in the world in the 1990s, rumour has it that McLaren could be working on a modern interpretation of the original hypercar by the turn of the decade.

In a new report by Autocar, the company’s Special Operations division will be in charge of the project, citing an anonymous source.

The reinvented F1 is expected to cost around 2 million pounds ($3.5 million), and should include many of the original's standout features - such as the three-seat cockpit, roof scoop and dihedral ‘butterfly’ doors.

While the original F1 was a space-age performance monster when it was released, it is believed that the contemporary version will be more of an ultra-powerful GT car, with the P1 to remain the pinnacle of the McLaren line-up.

However, Autocar believes that the F1 is being developed to be the fastest GT-car ever built, claiming McLaren workers are referring to the car as a ‘hyper-GT’.

“The result will be the most exquisitely crafted and luxurious road-going McLaren ever made,” said an unnamed source.

“It applies the F1’s three-seat configuration to a different need: rapid, cross-continental travel with supreme speed and style.”

Despite the luxury focus, a new F1 would be no slouch, likely to be powered by a version of the brand’s twin-turbo 3.8-litre V8 engine said to produce more than 700 horsepower (522kW) without any electric assistance, a la the P1.

A bespoke version of McLaren’s carbon-fibre tub is believed to be under development to allow for the central driving position and space for a passenger on each side of the driver - a hallmark feature of the original F1.

According to the British website, its source gave strong hints that the new F1 would be limited to just 64 units - the same number of road-legal F1s built.

Should the car be launched in 2018, it will also coincide with the 30th anniversary of the fabled conversation between McLaren boss Ron Dennis, McLaren part-owner Mansour Ojjeh, technical director Gordon Murray and marketing boss Creighton Brown, that is believed to have led to the original F1’s creation.

Adding to the rumours, the new car's name is likely to be linked to the original F1, however, it may be something along the lines of F1 GT in accordance with its grand tourer focus - think 570GT.

The new F1 is likely to be one of the 15 new models McLaren plans to introduce by 2022, in an effort to triple its annual sales by the same year. In 2015, the company sold 1654 sports cars.

Mike Flewitt, CEO of McLaren, went on record to say that by 2022, more than half of the vehicles offered by the brand will be hybrids. The reimagined F1 isn’t believed to be one of these models, however.

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