Will the McLaren P1 reach more than 400 km/h? It seems not

One of the cars that drew the most admirers, spectators or devotees at the last Paris Motor Show was the McLaren P1, presented as the panacea for the wealthy to break the magic 400 km/h barrier, a territory still reserved for the Bugatti Veyron or the SSC Tuatara.

However, it seems that we will be left with nothing more than good intentions of confirming whether the top speed of the McLaren P1 will truly be more than 431 km/h, a figure the Veyron has been gallantly holding for some time. The reason? Its test driver doubts it can get past 400 an hour.

Tomorrow McLaren apparently begins speed tests at the Nardo ring. And thanks to the Twitter account of Dutch colleague Werner Budding, we learned that the British manufacturer’s own official test driver, Chris Goodwin, has told him he had his doubts that the P1 could even pass the 400 km/h barrier.

We had been told ad nauseam that the P1 would be the new rival to the Veyron, with speeds of more than 431 km/h, the current top speed of the Bugatti Veyron. However, the goal of the P1 is not to set speed records, far from it. We will have to wait for news about the figures that the people at McLaren achieve tomorrow at Nardo.

Via | GT Spirit