2023 McLaren Solus GT

For years, automotive manufacturers have designed tantalizing digital hypercars as part of the Vision Gran Turismo collaboration that gives us a glimpse of what they could do with no restrictions, no limitations on creativity or innovation. But those concepts have always remained just that- concepts. And these could only ever be experienced digitally… until now. The McLaren Solus GT is what happens when Mclaren takes off the kid gloves and lets loose, turning a Vision Gran Turismo concept into a real-life racer. McLaren didn't just discard the rule book on this one; it doused the thing in gasoline and set it on fire. Building the single-seater track-only hypercar around a new chassis and forgoing the turbocharged V8s that have been the brand's staple since its 2011 revival, the 2023 Solus GT supercar packs a race-derived naturally aspirated V10 with 829 horsepower and a redline beyond 10,000 rpm. Only 25 will be built, and none will be road legal, but as far as imagination being brought to life goes, McLaren has gifted us a real treat.

Revealed as part of the Monterey Car Week festivities in California, the McLaren Solus GT has a vague release date of 2023. That's when the first deliveries are scheduled to take place. Will any of these be to American buyers? Who knows, but with only 25 available globally and none homologated for road use, the chances of seeing one in the wild are infinitesimally small.

Bespoke-built by McLaren Special Operations (MSO), the price of the 2023 McLaren Solus GT will not be what one would consider cheap. All 25 cars have been pre-sold, with reports of the MSRP at $4 million. Of course, each will be built to customer specifications, so prices will vary slightly.

In translating video game concept to reality, McLaren has created a car that could be considered in a class of one - how many other single-seat, closed-cockpit, track-only hypercars are there at your local circuit? In theory, the Solus GT rivals other track specials like the Pagani Huayra R and even the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, while its high-revving, naturally aspirated powertrain may draw comparison to the Gordon Murray T.50s. This is a car with no equal on concept alone.

Part Formula 1 car, part Le Mans prototype, the McLaren Solus GT exterior looks unlike anything else in existence. Some elements may have been adapted in the transition from video game to reality, but the basic premise is the same. Not quite an open-wheeled hypercar, aerodynamic pods shroud the 18-inch forged aluminum wheels - center-locking items in true motorsport fashion. The body is a display of perfect symmetry with a central cockpit accessed via a sliding canopy - the 'glass' of which is actually a single sheet of molded polycarbonate. The bodywork, naturally constructed of carbon fiber, is aerodynamically optimized both on top and underneath the Solus GT. In the former category, the aforementioned wheel pods pair with uniquely sculpted surfaces to lead air to the twin-element high-downforce rear wing with a central spine connecting the wing and the cockpit. Underneath, gargantuan ground effect tunnels run the length of the vehicle. Combined, all of these elements generate 2,645 pounds of downforce at speed - more than the car itself weighs.

A front splitter, air intake over the cockpit, and side-pod intakes are perhaps the most 'typical' elements of the Solus GT's design - if anything about it could be considered typical. Contrarily, the inboard suspension is visible through the bodywork ahead of the cockpit in pure motorsport fashion.

Debuting in white with blue accents, the colors of the McLaren Solus GT will be entirely up to the buyer. When you spend this much money on a bespoke project, the sky is the limit.

McLaren has not been forthcoming with the exact dimensions of the McLaren Solus GT, but we have no reason to believe this will be a particularly large vehicle. Built on a bespoke carbon monocoque chassis with room for only one occupant, the short wheelbase will aid dynamic handling traits, while the width will provide stability.

The only figure McLaren has furnished us with is the car's weight, or rather a ballpark figure of "less than 2,205 lbs." We presume that figure is the dry weight, but it's of little consequence. The release materials mention weight reduction no fewer than eight times.

It's easy to be completely besotted with the visual pantomime presented by MSO, but the engine of the McLaren Solus GT is equally as special. Forget an adaptation of the brand's ubiquitous twin-turbocharged V8. Forget hybrid assistance. Heck, forget about turbochargers. Instead, McLaren sourced a 5.2-liter naturally aspirated V10 LMP race engine from Judd Power - the same Judd with decades of experience building V10s for Formula 1 cars. Outputs from the mid-mounted naturally aspirated screamer peak at "more than 829 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque" and are sent to the rear axle via a seven-speed sequential gearbox. Oh, and one little detail… it revs up to 10,500 rpm.

The benchmark numbers seem unremarkable: 0-62 mph takes 2.5 seconds, and McLaren cites a top speed of over 200 mph. But those figures are not what the Solus GT is about. McLaren says this embodies the driving experience of a Formula 1 car and will produce faster lap times than anything outside of a single-seater racer.

The engine and gearbox are stressed members that form an integral part of the chassis, with the rear suspension mounted directly to the transmission.

The suspension deserves notable mention - with F1-inspired front-pushrod and rear-pullrod-activated torsion bars and a double-wishbone design. The dampers are four-way manually adjustable, and the car incorporates anti-roll bars and a heave spring and damper system. At each corner, 18-inch wheels are shod in Le Mans Prototype-spec rubber - both slick and wet compounds are available - while the wheels themselves house six-piston monobloc aluminum brake calipers, the front/rear bias of which can be set by the driver.

HA. HA HA HA HA HA. Right, composure regained, we can address this matter seriously. No, no, we can't. The McLaren Solus GT is a track car, so gas mileage simply does not factor. Nor does it need to, as there's no reason for it to be homologated for road use. Simply gather your team of McLaren race engineers together and stock up on race fuel.

Given its singular focus, the interior of the McLaren Solus GT has a surprising number of amenities. The cockpit - and that really is the best way to describe the interior of the Solus GT - seats a single occupant but, thankfully, adopts a traditional legs-forward racing position as opposed to the lying-on-your-belly approach of the Vision Gran Turismo.

The seat is molded to the driver's body and utilizes a six-point racing harness to keep you in place, and the pedal box adjusts, so drivers of different stature can pilot the car. Without an expansive dash on which to place controls, the F1-inspired carbon fiber steering wheel houses the bulk of the buttons, along with a TFT instrument display screen for necessary information. That's about as close as you'll get to anything resembling infotainment. Ignition and fire extinguisher switches are mounted on the bulkhead above the driver, as is a display screen receiving a feed from a wide-angle rearview camera, given the Solus GT's distinct lack of a rear windscreen.

Perhaps the most surprising inclusion in the cockpit is air conditioning, keeping the occupant cool in their race suit once the canopy slides shut while they hammer out hot laps. Incidentally, McLaren includes an FIA-homologated race suit, helmet, and head-and-neck safety device as part of the package.

It should go without saying that the Solus GT has no trunk or cargo space whatsoever, and a cupholder is what one might consider a bad idea when you're pulling high G-forces around your favorite race track.