When it comes to producing world-class supercars for the road, McLaren attacks its projects with the same unwavering enthusiasm it uses to build championship-winning race cars. Take the eagerly-anticipated McLaren P1 for example: the car was only revealed at last September’s Paris Auto Show, yet a “production-ready” model will be displayed in Geneva next month. By anyone’s standards, that’s moving quickly.
McLaren has also released this video, showing (for the first time) the P1’s racing-inspired digital instrument cluster. It’s even got a full on “Race” mode for the display, which gives the driver a bank of shift lights (ranging from green to red to blue) to optimize acceleration. We assume the display can be arranged in any way the driver sees fit, emphasizing the gear indicator (as shown), speedometer or, presumably, the rev counter. The P1’s standard display shows a sweeping bar graph tachometer, a digital speedometer and a gear indicator, as well as the car’s current mode.
Look for full details on the P1 (including drivetrain specs and power output) to be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show. We suspect the car will get a Formula One-inspired Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) for added acceleration, and rumor has it that combined output of the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 and electric motor will be around 800 horsepower. If that’s the case, the P1 will be one hybrid we can get excited about.
