McLaren turns BP23 into work of art

McLaren has produced a new sculpture inspired by its forthcoming three-seat BP23 'hyper GT', and each of the 106 customers of its sold-out hypercar will receive one.

Each 3.6kg block of metal and carbon-fibre is claimed to have taken more than 100 hours to make, with 30 of those hours involving hand-polishing alone.

Featuring the production model's three-seat layout and a rear deck fin, the design of the sculpture is claimed to preview the actual BP23.

Due to arrive in 2019, the BP23 is confirmed to have a top speed of more than 391km/h, usurping the original McLaren F1 to become the British car-maker's fastest car ever.

Codenamed BP23 (Bespoke Product 2), the successor to the P1 has been created to blend grand touring luxury with hypercar levels of performance.

Powering the BP23 is an advanced hybrid powertrain that combines the car-maker’ latest 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with an updated version of the firm’s Instant Power Assist System (IPAS).

In the McLaren P1, at least, IPAS acted like an F1-style KERS electric power unit that boosted the turbo V8’s output by an additional 131kW/260Nm in an instant when required.

Full technical details will be released later this year but expect the BP23's outputs to dwarf the P1’s 643kW and 750kW, which could be enough for the three-seater to come close to a two-second 0-100km/h time.

Rumoured to have cost its 106 buyers $3.5 million each, the BP23 has already been teased via a bizarre widened version of the McLaren 720S.