In October of 2018, McLaren introduced a limited-production hybrid hypercar that would be the fourth member of the McLaren Ultimate Series and the direct successor to the McLaren F1, another member of the Ultimate Series. With 106 units being built, the McLaren Speedtail is a 2-door, 3-seat, central-driver hypercar that isn’t technically street legal. We thought we’d see how it measures up to what will undoubtedly be considered one of its biggest competitors despite the differences, by pitting the 2020 McLaren Speedtail vs the Bugatti Chiron.
2020 McLaren Speedtail |
VS |
Bugatti Chiron |
---|---|---|
1,036 hp | Horsepower | 1,500 hp |
848 lb-ft. | Torque | 1,180 lb-ft. |
250 mph | Top Speed | 261 mph |
13 s | 0-186 miles per hour | 13.6 s |
You might be wondering why the McLaren Speedtail isn’t considered street legal while vehicles like the Bugatti Chiron are, but it doesn’t actually have much to do with power. The Speedtail isn’t street legal because it replaces the side mirrors with cameras and has no side-mounted airbags. These aren’t the only differences between the Speedtail and the Bugatti Chiron, though, as evidenced by the table up above.
As the table shows, the McLaren Speedtail’s electric powertrain – which consists of a 4.0L twin-turbocharged V8 and a parallel hybrid system eMotor – doesn’t have the same power output as the Bugatti Chiron. The older hypercar is capable of generating 464 extra horsepower and 332 extra pound-feet of torque. All of that extra power also enables the Chiron to hit a higher top speed, surpassing the Speedtail’s by 11 mph.
However, despite all of that extra power, the McLaren Speedtail has the clear racing advantage, as it get can from a complete stop up to 186 miles per hour in a lightning-fast 13 seconds, 0.6 seconds faster than the Bugatti. Isn’t that incredible? Feel free to give us a call with any questions regarding the 2020 McLaren Speedtail!