McLaren Senna
2018–2019 · McLaren Senna — Hypercar, V8 Twin-Turbo, designed by Robert Melville.
The Story
The Senna is the most uncompromising road car McLaren has ever built, and it is named — with the blessing of the Senna family and the Instituto Ayrton Senna — after the greatest driver McLaren ever fielded. Everything about it serves the stopwatch. Active front aero blades and a vast hydraulically-actuated rear wing generate around 800 kg of downforce; the body is shaped by airflow, not beauty, which is why it divides a room; and 789 bhp pushes a sub-1,200 kg dry weight.
McLaren built just 500, each hand-assembled over roughly 300 hours, and Bruno Senna — Ayrton’s nephew and a McLaren ambassador — endorsed the car as a fitting tribute. A track-only Senna GTR (75) followed.
The looks remain controversial; the mission does not. The Senna is a road-legal racing car, and one of the defining track weapons of the modern hypercar era.
The Numbers
Benchmarked against its class
Each dial ranks this car within its Hypercar class — fuller means higher, and the tick marks the class midpoint.
Signature Colors
The Designer
Robert Melville
Succeeded Frank Stephenson as McLaren Design Director (May 2017–2022); previously at GM and Jaguar Land Rover. Oversaw the Ultimate-Series Senna/Speedtail/Elva and the second-gen Super Series.
Studio Motors POV
The Senna is the one McLaren that doesn’t care if you like how it looks — every line earns its keep in downforce. It’s the purest road-legal track car of its generation, and the name is more than marketing: a genuine, family-endorsed tribute.
Lineage
Where it sits in the bloodline
Market & Value
Values on cars like this move monthly. Our brokers price from real transactions.
What Reviewers Said About Senna
Worth Knowing About the Senna
3 Things You Didn’t Know
- 1. The name carries the Senna family's blessing — McLaren holds the rights with the Instituto Ayrton Senna, and Bruno Senna endorsed it.
- 2. It makes ~800 kg of downforce via active aero (front blades + a huge actuated rear wing) — racing-car numbers in a road-legal car.
- 3. The lower door panels can be specified in glass, so you can see the apex and the road beneath you.
- 4. Each of the 500 cars is hand-built over roughly 300 hours at Woking.
5 Fast Facts
- 1. 789 bhp from the 4.0L M840TR; 208 mph; 0–62 mph in 2.8 s.
- 2. ~800 kg of downforce; dry weight under 1,200 kg.
- 3. 500 road cars; a track-only Senna GTR (75) followed.
- 4. Named after Ayrton Senna, McLaren's 1988–1993 F1 great.
- 5. Launch ~$1,000,000 (£750,000).
Provenance
Owners & what to look for
Famous Owners
FLAG: no widely-documented, citable individual owner found for the Senna in this pass (buyers were largely existing McLaren Ultimate-Series collectors) — recorded rather than guessed. Bruno Senna was involved as ambassador/endorser, not as a customer owner.
Studio Buyer’s Brief
Provenance is everything on a 500-unit Ultimate car: low miles, complete history, desirable early build numbers and MSO specs. Decide between the road Senna and the track-only GTR (not road-legal). Optional glass door panels and exposed-carbon bodies are sought after. Values have held around and above $1M.
Full Specifications
- Make / Model
- McLaren Senna
- Class
- Hypercar
- Production years
- 2018–2019
- Units built
- 500 (road cars; Senna GTR 75 is race-only, not counted)
- Variants
- Senna GTR (track-only)
- Engine layout
- Mid
- Engine
- V8 Twin-Turbo
- Engine family
- McLaren M840T (V8)
- Displacement
- 4.0L (3,994 cc)
- Power
- 789 hp
- Torque
- 590 lb-ft
- 0–60 mph
- 2.8 s
- Top speed
- 208 mph
- Power-to-weight
- 574 hp/tonne · 3.8 lb/hp
- Transmission
- 7-Speed Dual-Clutch (SSG)
- Drivetrain
- Rear-Wheel Drive · Petrol
- Curb weight
- 3029 lb
Questions
Senna FAQ
Why is the McLaren Senna named after Ayrton Senna?
McLaren named the Senna after Ayrton Senna with the full blessing of the Senna family and the Instituto Ayrton Senna, honouring the driver who won all three of his Formula 1 world championships with McLaren between 1988 and 1991.
How many McLaren Sennas were built?
McLaren limited Senna production to exactly 500 road cars, all sold before the car’s public reveal in late 2017. A separate race-only Senna GTR was produced in 75 units and is not road registered.
How much horsepower does the McLaren Senna produce?
The McLaren Senna produces 789 bhp and 590 lb-ft of torque from its 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged M840TR V8 — enough to generate 800 kg of aerodynamic downforce at 155 mph in Race mode.
How much is a McLaren Senna worth today?
McLaren Senna values average around $1.30 million per Classic.com as of 2025, supported by its 500-unit production cap and named heritage.
Can you lease or finance a McLaren Senna?
Yes. Specialty lenders structure collector-car leases on limited-production hypercars including the McLaren Senna.
The McLaren Lineup
Explore every McLaren
Buy, sell, source or lease this Senna.
Studio Motors operates outside the dealership model — nationwide and off-market sourcing, custom lease structures, trade-in coordination. Tell us what you’re chasing.
