Going ‘Over The Limit’ On Track In McLaren’s Second Generation Super Series

Track testing your new super sports car on track sometimes requires a bit of drifting

McLaren, being the gracious automobile manufacturer that they are, have given us this video of their new second-generation car undergoing some track testing. This new ‘monocage 2’ carbon chassis is stated to be stiffer than the old central monocoque, which leads to more accurate suspension feel and placement on the road or on the track. The current McLaren lineup can initiate a drift quite simply enough, but this new stiffer car should be able to perform above and beyond.

McLaren has also imbued their new generation car with something they’re calling “Proactive Chassis Control II”, which monitors driver inputs to effectively balance handling, grip, and comfort. It’s all techno-wizardry that mere mortals like us will likely never understand, but from the looks of things in the video, it works to expectation. The car in this video appears to be the upcoming “P14” which in their current nomenclature has been dubbed the “720S”, and while it’s still in full camo, you can see that the car is going to be a stunner.

Drifting does look cool, and McLaren Test Driver, Chris Goodwin does it quite well, but the purpose here is to see what the car does beyond the limitations of grip. If the car handles really well up to the point of traction loss, and then becomes uncontrollable when you’re at 101% of grip, that’s going to be a dangerous design. Keeping the car balanced on a wild tire-shredding triple digit speed drift through a fast sweeping corner helps prove the concept of a truly balanced chassis. We look forward to getting our hands on the steering wheel someday soon.

[Source: McLaren Automotive on YouTube]