McLaren 765LT Meets Its P1 Ancestor in Quick but Satisfying Series of Drag Races

Obviously, that was mostly down to its stunning exterior design, though its performance wasn't too shabby either, to put it in the most euphemistic manner possible. Given that it set the trend for the appearance of the following models, the sight of a P1 these days isn't as shocking as it was back in 2013 when it first came out. Or so you'd think.

It turns out even somebody who has a Napier Green 765LT in his garage (together with a few other supercars, including another McLaren, a 720S) will need some help picking their jaw off the floor when one just casually rolls onto their driveway, nearly scraping its splitter in the process because it rides so ridiculously low in Race Mode. Had it been the driveway of a normal person with a normal garage lineup, the outcome could have been much worse for the P1.

It's not every day that the current quickest McLaren, the 765LT, meets one of the all-time quickest, the P1, so a drag race was all but inevitable. First, though, just like in a boxing match, it was time for the official weigh-in. With the 765LT barely scraping over 3,000 lbs (1,360 kg), it was pivotal to know how much the 903-hp (916-PS) hypercar weighed. Tip the scales too much, and its power advantage could be wasted against the very agile 765LT which, as we know, actually puts out a lot more power than the advertised figure.

Luckily, with just 3,375 lbs (1,531 kg) with fuel in the tank, we definitely have a fight on our hands. The two British speed demons go head-to-head in both standing and rolling races, but the results are somewhat inconclusive in the absence of a tree and precise time measuring. However, the date is set for a second meet between these two at the drag strip, with the successor of one of the McLaren P1's original rivals—the Ferrari SF90 Stradale—said to show up as well. That will be one hell of a day, but this one wasn't bad either. Why don't you click play and see for yourself?