McLaren Speedtail (BP23) will have MORE than 987bhp

The McLaren Speedtail, McLaren’s new hypercar, will deliver more than 987bhp from its V8 hybrid when it launches.

We got used to snippets of news about the McLaren BP23, a new McLaren Ultimate Series car, but we’re now having to get used to a new name – McLaren Speedtail – as McLaren finally revealed the new car’s production name last month.

It’s hard not to compare the Speedtail to the McLaren F1, not only because it will be McLaren’s range-topper, but because it mimics the F1’s 1+2 seat layout, with the driver sitting in a central position, slightly ahead of the passenger seats each side.

But we’re 25 years on from the F1 now, so the Speedtail will be getting hybrid V8 power – not BMW V12 power – just like the McLaren P1, and now we know it will deliver ‘more than 986bhp’, thanks to a Top Gear interview with McLaren’s Mike Flewitt.

Flewitt told Top Gear that the Speedtail isn’t about outright top speed – although it will be faster than the F1 – but about being a better driving proposition, offering a ‘super drive’ whilst being ‘super comfortable’. Which is not something you can say about many hypercars.

McLaren has already sold every single one of the 106 Speedtails at £1.6 million (+ tax) which, by current standards, almost seems something of a bargain. We should see the Speedtail in the flesh before the end of 2018.