Even after the last Speedtail rolls out of Woking at the end of next year, Mike Flewitt is not yet done with central driving positions. He said: “Three seats can’t go more mainstream because the safety legislation is complex. This means, for instance, customers in North America have to privately import in their cars. But I’d love to see that centre seat idea in a pure track car, like a GTR. It’s so great to drive, we can do it, so why not?”
He’s right. Anyone who has driven anything from a McLaren F1 to a Formula Ford will know central driving positions just feel right. But I wonder if there’s something else here: McLaren has always said the Speedtail’s configuration is a homage to the McLaren F1, but the comparatively heavy car is by no means a replacement for perhaps the most iconic hypercar of all. McLaren is working on a P1 successor, so perhaps that’s where it will pop up next: an ultra-light hybrid hypercar with a central driving position introduced in time for a racing version to qualify for the 2021 street-car-based Le Mans prototype category. Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but wouldn’t it be great if it was true?
