FIRST DRIVE: McLaren Solus GT – 858bhp V10, Single-Seat Hypercar!

The McLaren Solus GT is a computer-game fantasy car made real. It started life in the virtual world of Gran Turismo back in 2017, but with rivals like Aston Martin, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Red Bull getting in on the track-only hypercar market, McLaren needed to up its game from the Senna GTR. Enter the real-life Solus GT.

There have been many changes from the virtual Vision GT to IRL Solus GT and – from our point of view – they’re all good. The biggest and most pivotal is the switch from the familiar McLaren twin-turbocharged V8 (plus make-believe electric motors for the front wheels) to a pure rear-driven configuration with a naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 engine that revs to 10,000rpm. It produces 829bhp – or 858bhp with a ram-air effect at higher speeds.

Beyond that, the tub is carbon fibre, the suspension is double-wishbones all round and, oh, did we mention it’s a single, central-seat layout?!

Just 25 Solus GTs will be built and, of course, they’re all sold, at north of £3m each.

Over to Top Gear’s Contributing Editor, Jethro Bovingdon, for a taste of the billionaire lifestyle at the glorious Circuit of the Americas racetrack, in Texas, USA.

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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:05 Specs
01:58 Senna GTR Drive
05:24 Solus GT Walkaround
06:54 Solus GT Drive
14:21 Conclusion

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