A couple of weeks ago, we came face to face with a 720S mule. Our spy photographers caught it on camera with stickers saying ‘Hybrid Prototype’, so were they testing an electrified version of the Super Series Model, perhaps for the next gen?
That was thought to be the deal initially, but new information obtained by CarScoops, following a report posted by TheSupercarBlog, shows otherwise. A McLaren insider has confirmed to us that it was actually the Speedtail with a 720S body.
“A Speedtail hybrid powertrain mule photographed while testing featured recently on a few media sites. No secrecy around it now that Speedtail is in the public domain”, the company’s official representative said, without offering any other details on the car.
Set to enter production in 2020, the Speedtail was already introduced to the public at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show in March, subsequent to the Q4, 2018 unveiling. It combines the 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 with an electric motor and has a total system output of 1,050 PS (1,035 hp / 772 kW). The 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) will be announced in due course, although top speed has been reported at 403 km/h (250 mph) by McLaren and the 0-300 km/h (0-186 mph) is estimated to take only 13 seconds, or one tenth of a second faster than the Bugatti Chiron.
The Speedtail will become a rival to the likes of the upcoming Ferrari hybrid supercar. The yet-to-be-named model was scooped on a few different occasions and it’s expected with 1,000 PS (986 hp / 736 kW), from the 3.9-liter, twin-turbo V8 that powers the F8 Tributo and three electric motors. Maranello’s hybrid supercar will be shown to the world tomorrow, on May 29.
