Australian snares McLaren F1 replacement

At least one Australian has deposited enough cash with McLaren to snare a BP23, the internal code name for the long-awaited replacement for its iconic F1 hypercar.

The British car-maker will build just 106 of the hybridized three-seaters at the eye-watering cost of £1.6 million. With LCT and other taxes, that could put the BP23 at over $A3.5m landed!

But money alone isn’t enough to get a name on the customer list, with McLaren preferring customers with a strong tradition in the brand and of actually using its cars as they intended --not hermetically sealing them in private collections.

McLaren has not even revealed sketches to potential customers for the 2019 hypercar, yet its production run has been oversubscribed. It’s claimed more than 300 buyers are clamoring for a production run limited to 106 cars.

That number reflect sales of the original 1992 F1.

While McLaren sources confirmed one Australian customer had been approved for the BP23, they would not reveal who, nor whether the car would ever make it to Australia.

“People in this market, they have homes in more than one country and most of them haven’t yet nominated which country they want the car delivered to,” a McLaren spokesman admitted.

The BP23 (Bespoke Project 2, three seats) will revive the 1992 F1’s central driving layout (pictured), with two outboard passenger seats slightly behind the driver.

While McLaren would not confirm it, the layout cannot be delivered with the Monocell carbon-fibre chassis it runs on most of its cars -- nor the upgraded Monocell II chassis architecture which debuted on the 720S.

“We are calling BP23 a ‘Hyper-GT’ because it’s a car designed for longer journeys but with the high levels of performance and driver engagement expected of any McLaren,” McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt said at a teaser reveal for the car.

“A hybrid powertrain will make it one of the most powerful McLarens yet created but the car will also deliver the highest levels of refinement, enabling significant journeys to be undertaken with up to three people aboard,” he said.

Built by McLaren Special Operations (MSO), the BP23 will almost certainly mate its electrified hybrid technology (not derived, thankfully, from its Formula One team) with a powered-up version of the new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 from the 720S.

It is claimed to be highly luxurious, too, with trim levels higher than in any previous McLaren. Even its signature dihedral doors will be power operated.