Today is a big day for both sides of the McLaren car business. While the consumer arm of the company is debuting its new 675LT Spider, the racing arm, responsible for the Formula 1 team, is showing off a futuristic concept of a race car.
Either way, it's a good day to be a car fan.
The concept race car is called the MP4-X and, as you can see, it's very sleek indeed. And that's part of the idea. Intriguingly, McLaren brags that the concept's chassis "changes shape" to "adapt to different aerodynamic demands." Granted, it doesn't say how exactly the chassis shift takes place, but we like the idea nonetheless.
McLaren isn't giving many other details about the car, but it does say it's a hybrid -- like the newest generation of F1 cars -- designed to harness alternative power sources. The British racing company also points out it has an enclosed cabin in order to protect the driver -- something F1 is considering mandating for safety concerns.
“Formula 1 is the ultimate gladiatorial sport, and the future we envisage will be a high-tech, high-performance showcase that excites fans like no other sport,” read a company press release.
“With the futuristic McLaren MP4-X concept racecar, we wanted to peer into the future and imagine the art of the possible,” said John Allert, Group Brand Director, McLaren Technology Group.
The McLaren Honda Formula 1 team is coming off a pretty disappointing season fraught with many early retirements. Likely, this concept is a signal that the company is down but not out, keen to innovate and move forward.
