Living

I Drove McLaren's $2.2 Million W1-and Now Every Other Supercar Feels Different

By Basem Wasef Men's Journal

Updated June 30, 2026 4:32 PM

Men's Journal aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission. Prices are accurate and items in stock at time of publishing.

The McLaren W1 isn't just another seven-figure supercar-it's the successor to two of the most important performance cars ever built. Packing 1,258 horsepower, rear-wheel-drive hybrid technology, and Formula 1-inspired engineering, the $2.2 million halo hypercar has the impossible task of following the iconic F1 and P1. We took it to Italy's Mugello Circuit to find out if McLaren's newest flagship is worthy of the family name.

McLaren W1 Has the Biggest Shoes in the Hypercar World

Despite the wildness of ultra-high performance seven-figure McLaren flagships like the Elva, Senna and Speedtail, the tippy top of the brand's capabilities are its so-called "1" cars, ultra-low volume models which only come around every few decades. The F1 (1992) is still regarded as the supercar GOAT, a $20 million grail car that still holds the title of fastest naturally aspirated supercar. The P1 (2013) is one of the three now-legendary Holy Trinity of Hypercars. And the new W1 bears no smaller burden than representing pinnacle technology and design while leading the brand into the future.

Alien Advances

Standing out in a sea of supercars is no small feat. but the W1 is a moonshot that engineers itself around conventional limitations. Sure, it has the expected combination of big power (1,258 hp) and light weight (around 3,200 lbs.) But the hybrid V8-powered W1 aims to stand out by manipulating those numbers around being driver-focused. So rather than diverting electric power to the front wheels to boost acceleration from a standstill, the e-motor and internal combustion engine drive only the rear wheels for a livelier feel.

Futuristic tech helps make this alien looking spaceship-on-wheels go ‘round a track at warp speed, but McLaren stubbornly sticks to conventional hydraulic steering and brake systems in the interest of delivering maximum feedback to the driver. And while every McLaren road car before it features dihedral doors which open upward and outward in a way that make conventional "billionaire doors" look lame, the W1's door surfaces have wild sculpted shapes for aerodynamics that prevent them from shutting at an angle. The doors operate with a simple but-still-sexy upward sweep. Less show, more go.

Inside the McLaren W1's 1,258-HP Hybrid Powertrain and Cockpit

Every millimeter of the W1 is engineered for speed, and every touch point is designed to make it feel like an earthbound rocket. Reach under an aerodynamic crease on the door and you'll feel a button that lifts it skyward.

The cabin looks more like a space age bachelor pad than it does a passenger car, with two seats blended into the surrounding architecture. Want to adjust your seating position? Pull a latch to allow the spring-loaded pedal box to move toward or away from you and adjust the steering wheel to meet you, just like you would in a race car. Even cargo storage is unique in the W1. Because the front end is dedicated to reshaping airflow, a front trunk wouldn't do; the mid-mounted twin-turbo powerplant also means there's no space back there for bags. The solution? Folding headrests that open to a cargo shelf behind the seats.

The view ahead is clean and clutter free, with the only switches on the steering wheel being a blue "Aero" button on the left for greater speed and less downforce and a "Boost" button the right for heightened e-Motor assist. Carbon fiber is everywhere, from the A-pillars to the door sills, furthering the no-nonsense go-fast aesthetic. It takes a bit of a reach to shut the door from your seat, but a small leather strap makes the pull slightly easier, and tucks back against the door with a magnet.

The engine start button is overhead in an aircraft cockpit-style panel, and unless you're in Electric mode, the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 fires up with a sense of clear and present power. Tap the large carbon fiber paddle on the right, and you're ready to rock ‘n roll.

McLaren's Rear-Wheel-Drive Hypercar Feels Different Than Its Rivals

There's an instant feeling you get from the first moments in a car, and the McLaren W1 smacks you in the seat of the pants with feedback. The steering's hydraulic nature means the wheel communicates every nibble on the pavement to the palm of your hand, and the feedback of the hydraulic brakes paint a precise picture for the pressure needed for every deceleration, whether rolling to a smooth stop at a light or scrubbing off a couple hundred miles per hour.

The hybrid system's battery is a tiny 1.384 kWh for light weight and quick discharge/recharge and is only good for 1.6 miles of EV-only propulsion. But it's the optimal way to help hustle the W1 around the 3.2-mile Mugello circuit, just a short drive from the Ferrari factory where the rival, $3.9 million F80 is built. There are no coincidences.

Configuring the W1 for the circuit is key: you'll need to engage Track mode, which is only available in motion when the car is at a racetrack (thanks GPS!) Press and hold the overhead button a few seconds, and the W1 drops to the ground and stretches its rear wing further outward for maximum aerodynamics. Further aggression can be coaxed in Race+ mode, and the Sprint setting goes all out by dumping all electrons into forward motion rather than preserving the battery state for repeated laps.

With racer Andre D'Cruze by my side for pro tips and perhaps emotional hypercar support, I barrel down the sprawling Tuscan track to see what the W1 can do. There's an immediate sense of confidence and precision behind this Mclaren's large, squared-off steering wheel, despite the car's daunting capabilities.

Atop the wheel is the brand's first-ever embedded shift lights into a non-motorsports McLaren model, providing a color-coded green/yellow/red guide for when to shift if you'd rather control the 8-speed dual-clutch yourself. Gears shift nearly instantaneously, and the gearbox uses tech so advanced it can send power simultaneously through the current gear and the next one in order to minimize lag. Shift yourself, and you'll feel absolutely in control of these nuclear levels of power. But trust the machine, and you're rewarded with split-second cog swaps at the engine's peak power, anteing up speed at a breathtaking pace.

The final key to ultimate pace is Dynamic Handling mode, activated by a button on the left-side stalk flanking the TFT instrument panel. The setting frees the stability control system to allow tire-smoking powerslides, and the uncorked feeling of accessing nearly 1,300 horsepower at the rear wheels is nothing short of mental. While the rival Ferrari F80's front wheels are driven by electric motors, lending it inherently more directional control, the only job of the W1's front wheels are to aim the car where you want it to go, which lends the steering a transparent, direct feel; the business is in the front, the party is in the back.

And what a party it is. While relatively cheap, four-figure horsepower can be had in everything from a Dodge Demon to any Tesla Plaid, speed hits different in the highly engineered W1. In Sprint mode with the Boost button pressed, acceleration begets boggling tarmac-gobbling momentum. I saw 302 kph (188 mph) at the end of the 0.7-mile main straight without trying too hard, and could have easily hit the electronically limited top speed of 217 mph with just a little more tarmac. Stomping on the carbon ceramic stoppers scrubbed the speed off dramatically, with assist from the rear wing which flips up to act like an air brake.

The aforementioned hydraulic steering conveys just how much grip the front tires have with neural clarity, and I'm able to rotate the car easily by goosing the throttle just a tad. It may not be the most efficient way around Mugello, but muscling through with some vaporized Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS trailing into the atmosphere is one a hell of a way to explore what this $2.2 million machine can do.

Is the McLaren W1 Worth $2.2 Million?

My McLaren W1 test drive included time on local roads as well, though I'd prefer to redact the majority of my observations as they reflect more of the ludicrous capabilities of this track-focused weapon than they do its viability in the real world. Suffice to say, the sea of Fiat Pandas and VW Polos in these parts make the McLaren seem all the more otherworldly in both design and outright capability.

It can be easy to dismiss moonshots like the W1 as pointless exercises in excess for the 0.1 percent. And yes, there is a certain absurdity to investing unspeakable manpower and resources into building a race-bred road car few will actually use (for what it's worth, Jay Leno has driven his P1 regularly enough to accumulate 12,000 miles on the clock, and he has a W1 on order). But viewed as a landmark achievement that only comes every decade, it's no wonder each of the 399 McLaren W1s has long been spoken for.

2026 McLaren W1 Specs

Engine: 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged flat-plane-crank V8
Electric Motor: Radial-Flux e-module
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Horsepower/Torque: 1,258 hp/988 lb-ft
0–60 mph: 2.7 seconds
Top Speed: 217 mph
Price: From $2.2 million

From $2.2 million at McLaren (Good Luck)

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the Gear section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 3:22 PM.