One owner from new
2019 McLaren Senna Coupé

• One of only 500 made
• Delivered new to Abu Dhabi
• McLaren Special Operations bespoke Gulf Oil livery
• Only 1,540 kilometres from new

Launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 2018, the Senna is the third edition of the McLaren Ultimate Series, the others being the F1 and P1. The Senna takes its name from the late Formula 1 World Champion, Ayrton Senna, whose six-year (1988-1993) stint with the British team netted the Brazilian ace 35 Grand Prix victories and three World Drivers' Championships; he also helped McLaren win four consecutive Manufacturers' World Championships. Clearly, a car worthy of the Senna name would have to be something very special.

Not surprisingly, given its inspiration, McLaren opted for a design that maximised track performance above all other considerations, claiming that the Senna was the most extreme road car it had ever built, albeit one that was still road legal despite its radical aerodynamic configuration. "The remarkable, almost Brutalist rawness of the car's appearance hits you like a sharpened jab in the eye," declared Autocar. "The Senna clearly isn't a car that seeks the approval of admiring glances. Its design is, by McLaren's own admission, the purest expression of a 'form follows function' approach that it has created."

What surprised many was the fact that the Senna did not build on the experience gained with the hybrid P1, dropping the electric propulsion and instead relying solely on McLaren's tried and tested 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 from the 720S. With 789bhp on tap, delivered via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, the Senna sprints to 100km/h (62mph ) in 2.8 seconds on its way to a top speed of 335km/h (208mph).

The foremost reason for abandoning the electric motor and its heavy battery pack was the emphasis placed on saving weight: for a given power output the surest way of reducing lap times is to lighten the car, and in the Senna's case its designers got the dry weight down to a commendable 1,198kg; needless to say, carbon fibre is found in abundance. Road car aerodynamics were taken to a new level in the Senna, which features an enormous twin-element rear wing capable of rotating through almost 90 degrees and working in conjunction with concealed winglets in front bumper. The result of all this precise control of airflow is a mighty 800kg of downforce at 249km/h (155mph).

Equally worthy of note is the innovative suspension system, which uses interlinked hydraulically adaptive dampers and hydraulic gas-filled accumulators, the latter taking the place of conventional springs and anti-roll bars. In Race mode the ride height is reduced by 39mm at the front and 30mm at the rear, resulting in increased under-body downforce and even greater levels of grip. According to Top Gear magazine: "The way it moves into corners is ridiculous, terms such as understeer and oversteer don't have any place when all you can do is get braver and discover where the limits lie." Top Gear's tester was equally impressed by the immensely powerful carbon ceramic brakes, for which McLaren claim a stopping distance of 100 metres from 200km/h (124mph) - 16 metres shorter than that of the P1, while stopping from higher speeds can produce longitudinal braking power in excess of 1.5g.

Opening the dihedral doors reveals a cabin trimmed in bare carbon fibre and equipped with fixed-back bucket seats and a flip-up dashboard display; glass panels for the roof and doors are optional extras. Despite a UK base price of £750,000 (approximately US$915,000), McLaren had no trouble selling the entire 500-unit Senna production run.

Delivered new to Abu Dhabi, this wonderful McLaren Senna has covered a mere 1,540 kilometres in the hands of its first and only owner and has an extensive McLaren service history. The car is beautifully finished in the evocative racing livery of Gulf Oil - a McLaren Special Operations (MSO) bespoke colour scheme - while other MSO highlights include the following:

Bespoke painted centre locks
Bespoke painted aero blades
Bespoke painted end plates
Bespoke paint detailing on interior
Bespoke painted door struts

This car also has the optional air conditioning and Bowers & Wilkins audio system (the latter costing £5,000) and features a quote from Ayrton Senna on the passenger-side dashboard: "If you have God on your side, everything becomes clear."

Despite appearances to the contrary, the Senna is no mere racer-with-numberplates, unlike some of its track-focused rivals. "So many offer the outright grip and speed without making it accessible," reckoned Autocar. "The Senna is different. No other road-legal track-day car has such a fully realised blend of mind-blowing circuit performance and excitement, amazingly tame drivability and brain-frazzling driver reward." Clearly, in creating the Senna, McLaren had indeed come up with a car worthy of the name.


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