McLaren Senna Captured At Nurburgring, Could be Seeking Lap Record

It has everything you need to conquer the Green Hell.

The McLaren Senna has been proven to be fast. It is very fast. The twin-turbo V8 produces 789 horsepower (588kilowatts) while only 2,600 pounds (1.180 kilograms), of supercar weight to carry around. The P1 matches it almost in straight lines, losing a little ground when speeds exceed those of jumbo jets. It can also go very fast around a track but it is not known how fast, specifically at the Nurburgring. Based on the video above, it seems that this could change soon.

McLaren Senna Captured At Nurburgring, Could be Seeking Lap Record

Automotive Mike found footage of a Senna at Green Hell wearing a red proclamation on both ends identifying it as VP724-P15 prototype vehicle. Although we aren’t in the McLaren skunkworks, we believe VP might be for Validation Prototype. This is based on our experience driving Validation Prototype736 at Silverstone in May. The side markings on the car were much less obvious because it was orange. It almost feels like McLaren wants to know that it’s running a prototype on the ‘Ring.

Is this a sign that there is a new player looking to break the Nurburgring record? The Lamborghini Aventador SVJ is still the ‘Ring King’ for production cars. Its black-magic aero package netted the hypercar a time of 6:44.97 around the Nordschleife. The Senna is considerably heavier than the Italian bull, at 600 lbs (272kgs), to be exact. Also, its V12 engine isn’t quite as powerful as the Senna. The track-oriented hypercar has a lot of potential to surpass the Lambo’s record, thanks to McLaren’s incredible downforce.

The video does not show any on-track action and clearly the driver is taking it easy. However, spy photographers and videographers can be sure to be watching closely at the Nurburgring for McLaren’s attempt to win the gold.