McLaren Senna bares it all in Geneva with carbon-fiber look
Not your style? Not a problem, because the whole run is sold out.
Not only is carbon fiber a strong, lightweight material great for automotive applications, it's also easy on the eyes. That's why McLaren's MSO division decided not to hide the Senna's glorious weaves on a model headed to the Geneva Motor Show.
McLaren will use the 2018 Geneva Motor Show to show off the McLaren Senna Carbon Theme by McLaren Special Operations. This brevity-averse model is one of five special themes that this limited-edition hypercar can be ordered in, and as you might guess from the name, it's all about carbon fiber.
If you think the Senna is expensive now, just wait until they start crossing auction blocks.
The exterior bares its carbon fiber for the world to see, and the 67 body parts in exposed carbon take approximately 1,000 hours to produce. The look is broken up with Solar Yellow details and Laurel Green brake calipers, two colors found in the helmet of racing legend Ayrton Senna, for whom the car is named. The yellow bits take MSO another 250 hours to put together.
Inside, the green details extend to the gas door struts, while yellow makes its way onto the steering wheel and the ample contrast stitching throughout. The rest of the interior is black as night, trading off between dark Alcantara suede and more exposed carbon fiber. There's a Senna "S" on the headrests, too.
If that's not enough carbon for you, McLaren is also using Geneva to launch a new carbon fiber wheel option. This seven-spoke wheel from MSO is up to 10 percent lighter than a standard alloy wheel, which will improve driving performance by reducing unspung mass. These wheels will soon be available at dealerships, and I'm sure they will cost more than the car I have on my driveway.
MSO puts a lot of hard work into its customization, and that work is reflected in the price tag. A "standard" Senna will set a person back £750,000 (about $1 million) and the Carbon Theme adds another £300,000 (about $410,000) to the total. None of this really matters, though, because the entire 500-car production run is already spoken for. So it goes.
Billed as McLaren's most extreme road car to date, the Senna uses a 4.0-liter gas V8 to produce 789 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, all of which is routed through the rear wheels. Using the same chassis as the McLaren 720S, the Senna boasts the lightest curb weight since the McLaren F1 at just 2,641 pounds -- about 300 pounds heavier than a Mazda MX-5 Miata.
