McLaren will pay homage to founder Bruce McLaren at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed, celebrating his bold vision and the greatest moments from the six decades since McLaren began in 1963, including McLaren’s capture of motorsport’s unofficial ‘Triple Crown’ of victories at the Indianapolis 500, Monaco Grand Prix and Le Mans 24 Hours. McLaren Automotive will also be looking to the future with global dynamic debuts of two new models on the Goodwood Hillclimb, alongside other iconic cars both running and on display.
The new 750S V8-engined supercar will headline McLaren Automotive’s presence at this year’s Festival, together with the game-changing, single-seat, closed-cockpit Solus GT. The Artura – McLaren’s high-performance hybrid V6 supercar – will also be showcased. In the 750S, a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 developing a power of 750PS and torque of 800Nm combines with new lightweight elements to deliver a power-to-weight ratio of up to 587PS-per-tonne – 22PS-per-tonne greater than its closest competitor. With more power and less weight (30kg DIN) than the 720S it replaces, the new 750S is capable of 0-100km/h in 2.8 seconds and 0-200km/h in 7.2 seconds. At its lightest dry weight of just 1,277kg, the 750S is a remarkable 193kg lighter than its closest competitor. Its outstanding dynamic capabilities are further unlocked by a new version of McLaren’s Proactive Chassis Control linked-hydraulic suspension, PCC III.
Leaping out of the virtual world and into reality, the Solus GT is track-only development of a futuristic concept featured in the Gran Turismo SPORT video game. Just 25 customer cars will be built, all of which have been sold. The Solus GT is powered by a naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 engine that revs in excess of 10,000rpm and is mated to a bespoke seven-speed sequential transmission. The engine produces 840PS and 650Nm of torque and with the whole car weighing less than 1,000kg, performance is simply incredible, targeting 0-100km/h in 2.5 seconds and a top speed of over 200mph. Wind-tunnel research combined with CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) work results in an aerodynamic package capable of developing over 1,200kg of downforce, reinforcing the extreme trackability of the Solus GT.
In addition to tackling the challenging Goodwood Hillclimb, the first Solus GT production car will also be on display at McLaren House, the brand’s home for the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed and the destination for fans wanting to explore McLaren’s rich racing and automotive heritage. Silverstone-based, high-performance engineering company KW Special Projects (KWSP), which specializes in supporting exclusive vehicle projects for road, track, and display, is working alongside McLaren engineers as a technical supply partner.
Running in the Supercar and Manufacturer batches will be a selection of McLaren models past and present. The Artura, McLaren’s first V6 hybrid supercar, will take part in hillclimb action alongside McLaren’s first hybrid, the P1™ hypercar, marking its tenth anniversary in 2023. Ultimate Series models including the McLaren Senna and Elva will power up the hill, as well as 12C Job #1 – the very first production 12C.
On each of the four days of the festival, a ‘McLaren Moment’ will showcase some of McLaren’s greatest racing machines in a moving motor show on the Hillclimb. At points over the weekend the fantastic collection of racing cars and drivers taking part will include Mika Häkkinen returning to the wheel of the MP4/14 in which he won the 1999 Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship; Bruno Senna driving his uncle Ayrton Senna’s 1991 Formula 1 World Championship-winning MP4/6; and McLaren’s Le Mans 24 Hour race winner JJ Lehto in Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 MP4/23 F1 Championship winner.
Spectators will also see cars developed by McLaren Customer Racing, including the 12C GT3, the 650S GT3, the 570S GT4, 720S GT3 X (which won the 2021 timed shootout in the hands of Rob Bell) and GT3 Evo, as well the new Artura Trophy race car.
Michael Leiters, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive: “This year is the 60th anniversary of McLaren being founded, and the Goodwood Festival of Speed is the ideal event to celebrate six decades of thrilling performance. Alongside iconic cars from our past, we will be showcasing our current model range which together with two global dynamic debuts further strengthens the foundations for a new Future of Performance for McLaren”.
