All this while, I thought the Aston-Martin Valkyrie would be the most splendid car ever. Bugatti unveiled their Bolide, and that’s a spectacular car, but I felt it was a bit too much considering its design language. The AMG One has an F1 engine, and that’s it. But little did I know McLaren was working on something that could create 1200kg of downforce at just 150mph, that looks so out of this world that it literally makes your jaw drop. And to think we all considered the Senna was a spaceship on the road.
The Solus GT, as McLaren says, was sketched back in 2011. That means it was the first car McLaren had designed when they set out on this new trajectory as McLaren Automotive. In 2017, Sony approached them for a concept car for their video game Gran Turismo, and thus they got the Solus GT as we know it now. The design isn’t much different from what you see in the video game except for how you sit inside the cockpit.
When it comes to the doors, there isn’t one. Instead, the whole canopy slides forward for you to enter, just like in a fighter jet. I’m slightly disappointed that it’s a single-seater because traditionally, a car has two seats. But from the performance point of view, it’s great that it’s a single-seater as there is a balance in handling and vision, and instead of making it a three-seater like the Speedtail, this seems the better option.
Now, the numbers! The horsepower figures aren’t the most exciting, with around 840hp, while the Valkyrie makes around a whooping 1000hp. I’m not saying 840hp isn’t enough – it’s a handful, but why not more? Well, they’ve probably got their reasons. The most exciting part is the downforce it creates with that sweet aerodynamic body. At 150mph, the Solus GT produces around 1200kg of downforce. At 200mph, the number climbs to 2000kg! That’s what an F1 car nearly generates! And it weighs only about 1000kg!
When it comes to the engine, they decided to keep it old school with a naturally aspirated 5.2 litre V10 engine that screams past 10,000rpm. So, it should sound like those old F1 cars with that engine. McLaren plans to make only 25 cars with a price tag of around £4 million, and they’re all sold out – that’s obvious. And for that price tag, you get an F1-inspired steering wheel and seat fitting too!
When I think about it, I feel McLaren has done an absolutely fantastic job designing the car, making it look simple yet aggressive. They say it’s not scary as it seems, that it gives a comfortable driving experience, and this gives you the impression that the car might be gentle. But I’d say once you’re out on the track, it won’t be the case when you experience those G-forces and the downforce it creates. It’s got venturi tunnels for the downforce apart from the front splitters and that massive wing on the back like it’s got everything you probably ever dream of having in a hypercar. Oh, and did I mention it’s not road legal? Well, that’s a bummer. But it’s meant for the track, so who can complain?!
Published in New and Noteworthy
I never thought in my life this would be made.
Yeah, me too! And I didn’t expect something like this to be made by Mclaren… Just astonishing.
To think they’ve been developing this for 11 years, over a decade!