The McLaren Speedtail was billed as having a 250-mile-per-hour top speed when it was revealed over a year ago, and now McLaren is proving it. High-speed testing at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds at Kennedy Space Center in Florida saw a Speedtail prototype named XP2 hit 250 mph over 30(!) times. McLaren chief test driver Kenny Brack was the lucky man behind the wheel mashing the go pedal.
It’s impossible to talk top speed and McLaren without mentioning Andy Wallace’s epic runs in the McLaren F1 at the Ehra-Lessian proving ground in Germany. That car’s official record is set at 240.1 mph, and it’s still the fastest production car in the world with a naturally aspirated engine. It managed to attain this top speed record with a 627-horsepower V12 and six-speed manual gearbox. The Speedtail has a hybrid powertrain that puts out a combined 1,055 horsepower and 848 pound-feet of torque. We’re still waiting on exact details as it concerns the Speedtail’s powertrain combination of gas engine and electric motor(s).
McLaren also announced today that production of the Speedtail has begun at the McLaren Production Center in Woking, UK. These are the first of 106 customer orders set to be built, and deliveries will begin in February 2020. As a reminder, the Speedtail won’t be road legal in the U.S. due to the three-seat configuration not meeting safety requirements. Regardless, one-third of all Speedtails were sold to American customers, which means those folks will need to apply for a show and display exemption to enjoy their Speedtails.
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