McLaren P1 XP2R caught at the Nurburgring. A 'Special Edition' P1?

We’ve got video of a new McLaren P1 running round the Nurburgring sporting the moniker ‘XP2R’. Is this a prelude to a ‘Limited Edition’ McLaren P1?

The McLaren P1 XP2R (pictured) caught at the Nurburgring

The McLaren P1 is pretty much out in the open, and has even had it’s dynamic debut – in the hands of Jenson Button – at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

So why is there a McLaren P1 blatting round the Nurburgring wearing a small badge that says ‘XP2R’? Is this a ‘special’ P1; perhaps the first hint that McLaren are going to produce an even more extreme P1?

The Interwebs seems convinced that the XP2R is going to be a P1 that can deliver even more horsepower than the standard car (over 1000bhp is mentioned in umpteen places) and will come at a premium price (over £1 million) compared to the regular P1. But, as far as we can see, that’s nothing but speculation and guesswork.

The truth probably is that this is just McLaren’s second prototype for the P1 that’s been rebuilt. McLaren use ‘XP’ as the moniker for their experimental prototypes (there were 5 XP F1s and an XP LM too) and the XP moniker was also used when McLaren were developing the 12C.

So what we have here is McLaren’s second prototype for the P1 with an ‘R’ added to the end of its name. The ‘R’ probably means it’s been rebuilt to the latest P1 configuration but it could – possibly – mean it’s a car McLaren have earmarked for the ‘Ring (Nurburgring). If it is, we could see a proper run from McLaren with this car round the ‘Ring soon to set a sub-7 minute lap.

But it’s almost certainly not an early preview of some sort of ‘Super’ McLaren P1.