McLaren P1’s Controversial Nurburgring Lap Time

McLaren Automotive has caused a stir by posting a beautifully-shot video of its P1 hypercar charging through the Nurburgring circuit, but then not disclosing the full lap time.

The Nurburgring Nordschleife lap time is regarded as the unofficial benchmark for testing a car’s performance credentials and many have been eagerly awaiting the McLaren P1’s race against the clock. The good news is that the P1 in the hands of McLaren test driver Chris Goodwin has completed a timed lap. The bad news is McLaren isn’t telling us the full time. Instead, in a YouTube video the company just mentions the lap was completed in under seven minutes on standard road tyres.

This is infuriating seeing as the P1’s rival, the Porsche 918 set a time of six minutes and 57 seconds, and many were wanting to see if the British brute could match its German counterpart. Some have suggested the P1 couldn’t match the Porsche, while others say McLaren is waiting for Ferrari to test its LaFerrari. Currently the Nurburgring is undergoing maintenance, so we won’t know for a few months.

The P1 is the flagship vehicle of the McLaren range and uses the same engine as the MP4-12C supercar. We recently spent some time admiring it up close at the Daytona 10 celebrations in Johannesburg.

Watch the McLaren P1 go around the Nurburgring