P1 sold out, says McLaren

McLaren’s all-new P1 has generated much hype since the concept first surfaced at the 2012 Paris motor show, and this has allegedly been followed up by sufficient buyer interest for the full production run of 375 cars to be pre-sold.

According to the Woking-based manufacturer, the new flagship coupe, which starts at just under $1.5 million in the UK, has sold out ahead of the company’s target to allocate all units by the end of the year.

That said, would-be customers are still being asked to register their interest for the P1, in case any existing clients change their minds or are forced to pull out during the build process.

The company says the quota of cars allocated to the Americas, Asia Pacific and the Middle East had already been snapped up earlier this year, with only Europe lagging behind owing to the economic downturn in that continent.

Interest in the P1 has been boosted by an appearance at the Pebble Beach Concours, where an example of its spiritual predecessor – the hallowed F1 – sold for $US8.47 million at an auction.

The Magnesium Silver F1 in question was chassis number 066 and had previously resided in Texas. It had two owners prior to auction and had just over 14,000 miles (22,500km) on the clock at the time of auction

Getting back to the P1, buyer interest has been further piqued by news that the car has lapped the Nurburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes – putting it at least on par with the Porsche 918 Spyder, which clocked a 6:57 lap at the same circuit in the hands of ’Ring expert Marc Lieb.

According to UK reports, 12 P1s have been built so far, with some of these already in the possession of their owners, and the rest en-route to them.

To quickly recap, the P1 is powered by a hybrid powertrain that pairs a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 with a lightweight electric motor. The combo makes for scintillating performance, as reflected by the detailed stats released last month by the company.