McLaren has revealed its most extreme creation to date. The McLaren Solus GT is a single-seater hypercar designed for track use, and with a specific set of customers in mind. Only 25 will be built and they are already sold out.
The Solus GT is inspired by the no holds barred Vision GT concepts. The car has a single seat with a windshield that wraps around the cockpit. The car looks, unlike any McLaren road car. In fact, you would mistake it for just another concept, if not for the badges. That being said, aerodynamics dictate the shape of the car and McLaren claims that it generates 2645 lbs of downforce, which is more than the overall weight of the car itself (2205 lbs).
The biggest surprise though is its engine. Lately, all McLarens have been using a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 in various configurations. However, the Solus GT packs a 5.2-liter naturally aspirated V10 that revs to 10,000 rpm and develops 829 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque. The engine is mated to a motorsport-derived 7-speed sequential gearbox with straight-cut gears and a carbon fibre clutch.
The Solus GT is based on a carbon fibre monocoque with the engine and transmission being stressed members. It has a pushrod front suspension and pullrod torsion bars at the rear. Other F1-derived bits include venturi tunnels, a halo and a crash structure. It also comes with a six-point harness, custom helmet and a HANS device.
