Whereas Ferrari offered the LaFerrari as both a coupe and a convertible and Porsche sold the 918 Spyder with a removable hardtop right out of the box, the McLaren P1 was only ever sold as a hardtop. That’s until Lanzante embarked on one of its most ambitious projects to date.
While recently speaking with Hagerty, the British firm revealed that it received a call from a P1 owner who wanted to convert it into a Spider. Lanzante was open to the idea and quickly called on the help of the P1’s original designer, Paul Howse, to create something that would look like it was an official creation from McLaren. The car was rolled out at last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed and Henry Catchpole recently had the chance to put it through its paces.
Read: Lanzante’s McLaren P1 Spider Looks Even Better In The Flesh
While turning a Coupe like the P1 into a Spider may sound easy, it was anything but. For starters, Lanzante had to modify the carbon fiber monocell, adding additional strength to the A-pillars to make up for the lack of a roof. It also had to redesign the complex hinges of the butterfly doors and trim the cabin in a new material that makes it more weather-resistant should owners ever get caught out in the rain without the temporary roof.
Catchpole is full of praise for the car. Lanzante recruited the help of McLaren’s former test driver, Chris Goodwin, to ensure the handling was just as exceptional as the original. Hagerty headed out to a particularly bumpy road to test out the integrity of the modified monocell and said it felt just as stiff as the Coupe. Further adding to the driving experience is that there is now an intake behind each headrest as opposed to the central roof scoop of any normal P1.
Lanzante has built just a single prototype of the P1 Spider at this stage and has confirmed that it will build 5 units for customers.
