Yes, electrified, but not fully electric. . .

By Gary S. Vasilash

Mike Austin, executive editor of Road & Track, so he knows things like this, recently told me that a number of supercar manufacturers are developing vehicles with internal combustion engines rather than with full battery electric propulsion systems because people like the visceral sensation of the thrum of an engine. He acknowledges that there is no doubt that EVs can go really, really fast. But that speed is achieved accompanied with the sound of a whine characteristic of something from the Star Wars universe, not Le Mans or Nürburgring.

Case in point is the McLaren W1 supercar, which is based on a V8 hybrid powertrain that produces 1250 hp—915 hp from the engine and 342 hp from the “E-module” (a combination of electric motor and control unit).

Quick? 0 to 62 mph in 2.7 seconds.

Of course, a powerful engine like the MHP-8 twin-turbo V8 itself can’t make a vehicle go fast if the structure it needs to propel is too bulky.

So McLaren, per usual, has constructed a carbon-fiber “Aerocell” monocoque and even uses things like 3D-printed suspension components.

Of course, this comes with a price.

Starting MSRP: £2-million—a.k.a., $2.6 million.