The McLaren W1 has been recently announced, boasting a power of 1258 BHP.
This is the successor of the iconic McLaren P1, designed by Frank Stephenson's pen.
Its design is a topic for another time. What I want to talk today is about the power figure.
I still remember when everyone was raving about the original Bugatti Veyron's announcement between the end of the last millennium and the beginning of this one.
When it came out in 2005, magazine covers were all like "We drive at 253 mph in the 1001 hp Bugatti Veyron!"
Excitement was in the air. But nowadays we see figures like the one in the McLaren W1 and we don't bat an eye.
We borderline don't care.
Don't you feel that horsepower numbers mean nothing nowadays?
The numbers race
Let's dial the clock back a bit over 30 years.
The McLaren F1 was released with 627 BHP.
Fast forward to a bit over 10 years ago, the McLaren P1 came out with 903 BHP.
Today we have the McLaren W1 with 1258 BHP.
If you take a closer look, that's 4 BHP more than double the F1's power.
Which is insane.
The McLaren F1 held the title for the world's fastest car until the Bugatti Veyron came out a whopping 13 years later.
And in terms of naturally aspirated cars, it is still the champion over 30 years later.
Even after Gordon Murray built its spiritual successor (the GMA T.50 above) with another naturally aspirated V12, these numbers have not been beaten. And looking at the industry, probably never will.
You see…
With hybrid and electric powertrains, it's easier than ever to get high number of BHP for the sake of the spec sheet.
And with each release, the "importance" or "interest" in that number gets more and more diluted.
Why would you get excited about a 1000 BHP car today, when anyone can get an off the shelf electric drivetrain for their four door fridge with wheels and release it tomorrow?
Back then, there was specific effort, engineering, racing, intelligence, years of trial and lots of error, until people discovered the next great thing.
It was fascinating te how the industry evolved.
How risks were taken.
Bets were lost, and some times, won in a huge way.
Big power numbers is not what makes a car interesting nowadays.
Why we don't care about it
"Simplify, then add lightness.”
Most of you will be familiar with that famous Colin Chapman philosophy.
For those who don't know, Colin Chapman was the founder of Lotus in 1948.