McLaren Senna looks beastly on the road

  • Patrick
  • 2018-01-06 10:18
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McLaren Senna looks beastly on the road

The critics were not raving about the Senna, no different than at the presentation of the 720S. This time it was not the headlights, but the enormous spoiler that drew a lot of "negative" attention. On the road it just looks beastly, the word "gorgeous" is most certainly not the right term but it is quite the appearance. Congrats to spotter "indy" for catching the first ever spot of this car.

Looking at the rear of car it is the spoiler and the double diffuser that define the Senna. Created as a single piece of carbon fibre, it begins under the rear axle and as it increases in height accelerates air out from under the vehicle. This creates a low-pressure zone that sucks the McLaren Senna even tighter to the ground. Equally unmissable is a huge, double-element carbon fibre rear wing that at its highest point sits 1,219mm from the road when the car is stationary. Hydraulically actuated and with a planform surface area of more than 6,500cm2, the wing constantly adjusts to optimise the levels of downforce and aerodynamic balance and functions as an airbrake under heavy braking.

The depths of connection with the new Ultimate Series car will be experienced in full once in the driver’s seat and on a circuit, but the intimate relationship with the McLaren Senna begins before that, simply by entering the car. McLaren F1-inspired dihedral doors hinge forwards and upwards, opening with a portion of the roof to expose noticeably low sills and an aperture of sufficient size for drivers or passengers to easily enter or leave the cockpit, even when wearing a helmet and a race suit.

The doors, which are constructed of carbon fibre, feature two-piece glass side windows with a fixed top part and a smaller opening section below. Both the door upper (effectively part of the roof) and the lower half of the door side can be specified with glass as a replacement for the carbon fibre panels that are standard-fit. This enhances the sense of space inside the cockpit and in the case of the glazed door lower, dramatically reinforces the visual connection between driver and track environment. To accommodate the door design, the release mechanisms and window switches are housed alongside the engine start button in a carbon fibre console above the driver’s head.



McLaren Senna ziet er best lekker uit op straat

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