McLaren Solus GT
2023 (deliveries from 2023; revealed 2022) · McLaren Solus GT — Competition, V10, designed by Tobias Sühlmann.
The Story
The Solus GT is the wildest thing McLaren has ever built — except it isn’t for the road at all. It began as the Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo, a 2017 concept that existed only inside Sony’s Gran Turismo Sport video game. McLaren then did the unthinkable and built it for real: a single-seat, closed-canopy track car you climb into through a forward-sliding, fighter-jet-style hood.
Its heart is McLaren’s only V10 — a naturally aspirated 5.2-litre Judd-derived screamer that revs past 10,000 rpm, gloriously out of step with an industry of turbos and hybrids. At under 1,000 kg with up to 1,200 kg of downforce (more than the car weighs), it’s effectively an LMP car for your private track days. All 25 sold, each delivered with a custom seat, FIA race suit, helmet and HANS device.
Bruno Senna, who tested it, called it “a whole different planet” — “the closest you can get to a top-end race car.” It is McLaren’s purest, most uncompromising creation.
The Numbers
Benchmarked against its class
Each dial ranks this car within its Competition class — fuller means higher, and the tick marks the class midpoint.
Signature Colors
The Designer
Tobias Sühlmann
McLaren Chief Design Officer from Sept 2023 — a rare cross-marque thread through our DB: led exterior design at Bugatti and Aston Martin, was Bentley’s design director, and first designed McLaren’s Solus GT (special projects) before returning to head all McLaren design (W1). PARTIAL: his Bugatti/Aston/Bentley work lives in those makes’ tabs.
Studio Motors POV
The Solus GT is the most extreme and most evocative McLaren of the modern era — a real V10 that revs to five figures, built from a video game, limited to 25. Not road-legal, utterly unrepeatable, and exactly the sort of car a serious collection is built around.
The Engine
Judd-derived 5.2 V10
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 Solus GT
Worth Knowing About the Solus GT
3 Things You Didn’t Know
- 1. It started as a video-game car — the 2017 Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo in Gran Turismo Sport — then McLaren built it for real.
- 2. It has McLaren's ONLY V10: a naturally aspirated 5.2-litre Judd-derived unit that revs beyond 10,000 rpm, in an age of turbos and hybrids.
- 3. Under 1,000 kg, it generates up to 1,200 kg of downforce — more than its own weight — and you enter through a forward-sliding canopy.
- 4. Each of the 25 cars comes with a bespoke moulded seat, FIA race suit, helmet and HANS device.
5 Fast Facts
- 1. 829 bhp NA 5.2 V10 (Judd-derived), 10,000+ rpm redline.
- 2. 0–62 mph in 2.5 s; 200+ mph; up to 1,200 kg downforce.
- 3. Under 1,000 kg; single-seat, closed-canopy, track-only.
- 4. 25 units, all sold; ~$5.2M each.
- 5. Born from the 2017 Vision Gran Turismo concept.
Provenance
Owners & what to look for
Famous Owners
The Triple F Collection (Dave Frecka) — the documented US collection owns and actively tracks a Solus GT (duPont REGISTRY / PR Newswire, 2022).
Studio Buyer’s Brief
It’s track-only and not road-legal — buy it as a circuit weapon and an art object, not a road car. All 25 are sold, so acquisition is about access and relationships; full kit (seat, suit, HANS) and event history matter. A blue-chip collector grail and the most evocative McLaren powertrain of the modern era.
Full Specifications
- Make / Model
- McLaren Solus GT
- Class
- Competition
- Production years
- 2023 (deliveries from 2023; revealed 2022)
- Units built
- 25
- Variants
- Engine layout
- Mid
- Engine
- V10
- Engine family
- Judd-derived 5.2 V10
- Displacement
- 5.2L V10 (naturally aspirated)
- Power
- 829 hp
- Torque
- 479 lb-ft
- 0–60 mph
- 2.5 s
- Top speed
- 200 mph
- Power-to-weight
- 829 hp/tonne · 2.7 lb/hp
- Transmission
- 7-Speed Sequential (Xtrac, LMP-spec)
- Drivetrain
- Rear-Wheel Drive · Petrol
- Curb weight
- 2205 lb
Questions
Solus GT FAQ
What is the origin of the McLaren Solus GT?
The Solus GT originated as the McLaren Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo — a concept car created exclusively for Sony’s Gran Turismo Sport video game in 2017. McLaren later committed to building 25 physical examples, making a virtual fantasy a track-day reality.
How many McLaren Solus GTs were built?
McLaren built exactly 25 Solus GTs, all track-only and all sold before the car’s public debut at the 2022 Monterey Car Week. No examples are road registered.
What engine powers the McLaren Solus GT?
The Solus GT uses a 5.2-litre naturally aspirated V10 producing 829 bhp and 479 lb-ft of torque — a Judd-based unit with no turbochargers, paired with an Xtrac LMP-specification 7-speed sequential gearbox.
How fast is the McLaren Solus GT from 0 to 60 mph?
McLaren targeted the Solus GT for sub-2.5-second 0-60 mph acceleration; the company’s official figure is 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 2.5 seconds. The lightweight single-seat construction and 829 bhp naturally aspirated V10 combine for extreme on-track performance.
How does the McLaren Solus GT differ from a road-going McLaren?
Unlike McLaren’s road cars, the Solus GT is a fully enclosed single-seat track car with no road registration, a canopy entry, a 5.2-litre naturally aspirated V10, and an LMP-grade sequential gearbox — closer to an endurance racing prototype than any street-legal McLaren.
Buy, sell, source or lease this Solus GT.
Studio Motors operates outside the dealership model — nationwide and off-market sourcing, custom lease structures, trade-in coordination. Tell us what you’re chasing.
