More details on the McLaren P1 supercar emerge from a private unveiling

The McLaren P1 is the Britain's answer to the Ferrari F150.

With both the hypercars set to enthrall the enthusiasts in the early part of the year, McLaren and Ferrari are known to be going places and getting in touch with their prospective customers, explaining to them about what a cracker of a car they have behind the curtains.

Both the manufacturers attended the Paris motor show in September last year with a preview of what is cooking in their state-of-the-art technical centers. While McLaren previewed the exterior of the car, the Italians brought the carbon fiber tub but never uttered a word about its specifications.

McLaren recently conducted a private unveil of the P1 to select potential customers in Beverly Hills, America, and few hitherto unknown details of the have emerged. Autoblog.com was at the event and here is what they have learnt.

The McLaren P1 which was showcased at Paris actually had a fully working powertrain under the hood. The car shares its carbon fiber tub with the McLaren MP4 12-C and has aluminum structures in front and the rear for crash protection.

Every body panel is made up of carbon fiber and almost every exposed metal part is made up of titanium alloy. The estimated weight of the car is 1.3 tonnes.

Power is expected to come from the beefed up version of MP4 12-C's 3.8 litre V8 twin turbo motor which would produce around 800 bhp. The power from the engine will be backed by F1 style KERS system which will supply instant power in short bursts.

Only 500 examples of this supercar will be made. Prices would start at $1.5 million.

The interior of the car which is carefully concealed by tinted glasses every time a public unveiling is conducted, is expected to be unveiled in March.

So, the rivalry between Ferrari and McLaren intensifies not only on the F1 circuits, but on the roads as well.

[Source: Michael Harley for Autoblog.com]