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McLaren P1 Electric Hypercar Now Available From £375, Top Speed: 3 MPH

From October 2013 to December 2015, McLaren produced 381 units of the P1. Before an all-electric successor comes along to play, the British automaker has experimented with electrifying the P1 hypercar to a greater extent. The thing is, the pure electric McLaren P1 variant is not as fast as its hybridized counterpart.
Ride On McLaren P1 battery-powered children's car 6 photos
Photo: McLaren
Ride On McLaren P1 battery-powered children's carRide On McLaren P1 battery-powered children's carRide On McLaren P1 battery-powered children's carRide On McLaren P1 battery-powered children's carRide On McLaren P1 battery-powered children's car
That’s because the little yellow-and-black car in the adjacent pictures is a kiddy cars. Available exclusively at selected McLaren retailers as an open roof car, the battery-powered kid car is able to hit top speed in two seconds. That’s right, 0 to maximum velocity in less time that it takes to pronounce the longest word in the English dictionary. If you insist, that word happens to be pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

Whereas the regular P1 is limited to 218 mph (351 km/h), the children special is good for 3 mph (5 km/h). From an adult’s point of view, this is the least exciting car McLaren has ever made. On that note, potential customers under the age of 6 will disagree with their fathers. Officially dubbed Ride On McLaren P1, pricing for the coolest car for kids start at £375 (roughly $485).

Compared to its larger, faster, and more expensive brother, the pint-sized P1 is gifted with a central driving position. It’s not a McLaren F1, but then again, it’s a bragging point. Dihedral doors are also on the menu, as is one-button stop/start, air conditioning, an audio system pre-programmed with nursery rhymes, and an MP3 player. What’s more, it has a 3-speed transmission.

Regarding customization, I’m afraid that the Volcano Yellow finish will have to suffice. If you’re interested in such an off-beat creation, McLaren is going to ship the first units around the world at the end of October 2016.

In related news, the Track22 plan will see McLaren hybridize half of the model lineup by 2022. Even though details are scarce on the EV successor of the P1 hypercar, McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt let it slip that his engineers “have even started work on a one-off prototype to evaluate the possible benefits of a fully-electric powertrain in an Ultimate Series car.”
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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