The 1st McLaren Sabre has now been delivered to its owner…

McLaren Sabre

and somewhere in Los Angeles, someone must be celebrating with a very good champagne.

A bit back, I got a press release from our friends at McLaren Beverly Hills, announcing the delivery of the new McLaren hypercar, the Sabre.  A lucky, undoubtedly long term client, was handed the keys to what will be a run of only 15 cars.  Homologated only for US federal standards, it’s very unlikely the McLaren Sabre will be available anywhere else in the world.

Behind the scenes, the McLaren Sabre was made possible by McLaren Special Operations.

MSO–

“McLaren Special Operations is where McLaren’s innovation and your vision meet. We call this the art of the possible. It’s a creative process that pushes the limits. We’re fiercely proud of the unique cars that result from our collaborative efforts with our customers.”

Like a Saville Row suit, every step of bespoke process was in direct partnership with the eventual owner, ensuring that the customer’s wants were central to the crafting of their Sabre.

Testing McLaren Sabre

And the custom tailoring of each McLaren Sabre included a very special and highly secretive track day at O’Gara Coach’s  O’Gara Coach Beverly Hills  facility at The Thermal private track in Palm Springs, California.  Professionally coached through their track time, each owner was able to drive a developmental car multiple times, assuring their input was represented in their individual vehicle.

McLaren Sabre

McLaren Sabre Interior

What you can’t change, and wouldn’t want to, is a marvelous McLaren chassis, and 824 horsepower, the most horsepower of any non-hybrid McLaren ever.  That much horsepower translates to 220 mile an hour top speed, only exceeded by the hybrid McLaren Speedtail at 250 mph.  But as there are few places on earth to ever tap that kind of top end,  McLaren Sabre owner enjoys an uncompromising car, capable of blistering track times, yet driveable to that track.

McLaren Sabre

So far close lipped on the technical stats of the Sabre,  weight, skidpad, 0-60 times, are all notably absent, all filed under, “who cares”.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to have been involved with a number of very special cars and I’ve never seen a manufacturer give clients the level of access that McLaren Special Operations has provided for the Sabre,” commented Parris Mullins, Motorsport Director for O’Gara Motorsport.

More about McLaren Special Operations READ