10 Things You Didn’t Know about the McLaren Senna GTR
It’s fierce. It’s extreme. It’s extraordinary. It’s built for speed and is a class all of its own. It is the McLaren Senna GTR. This is the car that will turn heads and make people wonder if they’s on Main Street or if they made a wrong turn and somehow wound up at the Indianapolis 500. Did you grow up watching Speed Racer and Dukes of Hazard? Maybe you’re a little younger and your racing dreams were inspired by Pixar’s Cars. Here’s your chance to live the dream! Read more for ten things you didn’t know about the McLaren Senna GTR.
1. The power to weight ratio comes in at 694PS per ton
This is the highest power to weight ratio of any track focused McLaren. The calculus required to calculate power to weight ration calls for some complicated equations involving Greek letters. Leave that to the guys with the pocket protectors. Suffice it to say, this means the McLaren Senna GTR is really, really fast. It’s a powerful, high performance sporting vehicle that can zip down the track like its on wings.
2 The McLaren Senna GTR delivers up to 1000kg of downforce
Gotta go fast! Lift isn’t just for airplanes. It also makes cars more aerodynamic. The more verticle force you put on the tires, the more grip you’ve got. Once again, some fancy calculus is involved. Thank you, Sir Isaac Newton. Much of this downforce is due to the McLaren Senna’s spoiler. Snape kills Dumbledore! No, not that kind! I mean a big winglike appendage on the back of the car. It lowers the drag that slows down a car by redirecting the airflow patterns. Oh, and it loos really cool!
3. The McLaren Senna GTR is made with carbon fibers.
The secret to speed is making the vehicle out of material that is lightweight yet sturdy enough not to shatter in a stiff breeze. Carbon fiber was used to make the incredibly strong yet feather light tub. This is the perfect platform for providing remarkable levels of performance, not to mention precise handling and the most composed ride you will ever experience. In this case, they have taken things to a whole new level by honing it for competition. It’s as ready to race as you are.
4. The McLaren Senna GTR has an M840TR 4.0L twin-turbocharged V8 engine
If you want a good car, you have to start wit a great engine. Without an engine, all you have is a really expensive push cart. And the engine on the McLaren Senna GTR is far from simply mediocre! It supplies a jaw dropping 825 PS and 800Nm of torque. This in of itself is impressive enough. Now, imagine putting that hefty powerhouse into a super light (well, 2,619 pounds dry is light as cars go) track machine and the results will be beyond belief. It’s not just raw power, it’s also precision handling that sells it.
5. The McLaren Senna GTR has its own radar system
Don’t you just hate it when you’re speeding down the track and BAM! Some bozo who thinks he’s Ben-Hur smashes against the side of your car! You’d like to take off your helmet so you can make better use of your peripheral vision, but you need that helmet to, you know, not die. That’s where McLaren has your six (well, three and nine) with their Anti-collision Radar System. This form of advanced technology lets you know if someone’s coming up on your left or right side.
6. The brakes work just as well as the accelerator
When you got to go fast, you might be tempted to lead foot it. However, as any good racer will tell you, the brakes are just as if not more important than the accelerator. Without them, your beautiful racecar can easily turn into a flaming pile of scrap metal. With you in it! This GTR features the standard Senna discs and calipers plus a brand new innovative pad material as well as an updated brake booster. No matter what your reaction time is, the GTR can go the extra mile for you.
7. The steering wheel is a bit on the outre side
Honestly, it looks like a controller for an old school gaming system than any conventional type of steering wheel. After all, we expect “wheels” to be round, even if they are for control rather than load bearing. This steering wheel is more vaguely rectangular. The atypical steering wheel may feel intimidating or unnerving to some drivers. This is a car for the adventurous driver who isn’t afraid of something a little on the unconventional side.
8. Only seventy-five of them were made
Talk about rare limited editions! McLaren didn’t even make a hundred of them. Then again, there aren’t many people who would want this car. Check that, not many people who would want and could afford this car. Also, one big drawback of the McLaren Senna is that while it is indeed fast, it’s more about performance than speed. This is a car meant for people who like automobile racing in theory rather than practice.
9. The 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 engine produces 813 horsepower
This car is a strong little powerhouse. Not only does it run on a whopping 813 horsepower, the McLaren Senna GTR comes with some highly advanced aerodynamic equipment. This includes a massive front splitter and a rear diffuser. This makes it possible for the Senna GTR to accelerate from zero to sixty miles per hour in 2.8 seconds before climaxing at a top speed of 211 miles per hour.
10. A woman worked on this
Car manufacture is no longer a boys club. Say hello to Ella Podmore, a longtime member of the McLaren team and winner of the Young Woman Engineer of the Year award by the Institution of Engineering and Technology. Podmore is involved in every aspect of the manufacture from drawing board to finished product. She is “absolutely honoured” to accept the award from IET and expressed a desire to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists.
In conclusion, the McLaren Senna GTR is a car that’s just a little off the wall, even by the flashy standards of a racecar. It’s unlikely you will get your hands on the real thing, but if you’re handy, LEGO has a model you can have fun building. Who knows? Maybe it will be in the next LEGO movie.
You can also read:
- 10 Things You Didn’t Know about The McLaren 12C
- 10 Things You Didn’t Know About the McLaren 650S
- The Five Fastest McLaren Cars of All-Time
