Senna GTR is the track-only version of McLaren’s latest Ultimate Series car. The Senna is already proven fast enough for its legendary name. But GTR takes things up a notch.
As a track-only vehicle, it’s not bound by emissions standards. It’s also not homologated for any race series. This means that McLaren was free to unleash the full mechanical and technological potential of the car.
As such, the GTR surpasses the road-legal Senna in a number of areas and is on its way to become the ultimate vehicle in McLaren’s portfolio, outside of Formula One.
Despite its heavy schedule, the 1st prototype stopped in Goodwood and made its debut at the 77th Members’ Meeting. McLaren officials gave us a great presentation of the vehicle, showing many of the intricate aerodynamic features introduced for the Senna GTR.
The car’s obsession is aerodynamic efficiency. McLaren’s engineers focused on maximizing downforce without introducing any additional drag.
At the front, the GTR retains the active aerodynamic flaps from the road-going version. There are a bigger splitter and an array of fins on the sides of the bumper, which help manage airflow on the side of the vehicle.
At the back, there is the mother of all wings. The spoiler encompasses the rear end from 3 sides, connecting to chassis just above the diffuser. The main blade is still actuated, changing its angle of attack depending on the conditions. The whole unit is moved further back to allow its airflow to interface with the airflow coming out of the diffuser and improve the efficiency of both elements.
As a result, the 2,640 lbs supercar generates 2,200 lbs of downforce at 155 mph. That’s 400lbs more than the road-going version without any added weight.
Although it uses the same 4.0-liter, twin-turbo, V8 engine, Senna GTR is not required to use most of its emissions equipment. The vehicle gains nearly 25 hp over the street-legal version for a total of 814 HP and 590 lb/ft of torque.
The car rolls on 19-inch wheels with Pirelli race slicks. The width of the tires required modifications of the fenders, giving the Senna GTR a wider body.
The suspension comes from McLaren’s 720S GT3 race car to give the Senna GTR the handling it needs on the track.
Before driving the car on the track for Goodwood’s members, Bruno Senna commended McLaren for their work and shared his uncle would have been proud to see it.