McLaren P1: The Performance Details (w/VIDEO)

McLaren has confirmed the official performance figures for its new P1 supercar, as the first customer car is delivered to a UK-based owner.

The first car, in striking Volcano Yellow, rolled off the production line at the end of September after the process commenced over the summer. It’s the first of 375 cars which will be hand-built in the state-of-the-art McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking.

The official figures are the same as those revealed earlier this year, although in addition McLaren have revealed the P1’s fuel economy, emissions and braking performance.

With an electronically limited top speed of 217mph (350 km/h), the 903bhp P1 accelerates from 0 to 62mph in 2.8 seconds, to 124 mph in 6.8 seconds and 186 mph in 16.5 seconds – still around 1.5 seconds slower than the 949bhp Ferrari LaFerrari. In the space of just 400 metres (the standing quarter mile) McLaren’s P1 will reach 152 mph, completing the distance in just 9.8 seconds.

With a dry weight of 1,395, the P1 is around 250kg heavier than the McLaren F1 yet faster by a full 5.5 seconds to 186mph – that’s 20 years of technological progress, but even more noticeable is the P1’s fuel efficiency.

SEE ALSO: McLaren P1: How it compares to the F1.

While LaFerrari emits close with 220 g/km of C02 emissions (which it can keep up for just ‘a few kilometres’), McLaren quote 194 g/km for the P1 with an average fuel economy of 34.0 mpg (combined). The electric motor offers a range of 6.8 miles in full electric mode, which sees emissions (and therefore fuel consumption) drop to zero.

The very first customer car in Volcano Yellow has been delivered to a UK owner.

The McLaren P1 has been designed from the outset with one clear goal: to be the best driver’s car on road and track – when it was launched in March, the P1’s programme director, Paul Mackenzie said, “It may not be the fastest car in the world in absolute top speed, but that was never our goal. Rather, we believe it is the fastest ever production car on a racing circuit, a much more important technical statement, and far more relevant for on-road driving.”

The P1 is designed to offer the same braking performance as a GT3 or Le Mans racing car, a challenge taken very seriously by the company’s Formula 1 partner Akebono. In doing so the team developed a new type of carbon ceramic disc, first used on the Ariane space rocket programme for its heat-resistant qualities.

The result is even more spectacular than its acceleration – meaning the McLaren P1 will decelerate at close to 2g. The specially formulated discs, coated in silicon carbide, can bring the P1 to a halt from 62 mph in a distance of just 30.2 metres — which compares with around 102 metres for a typical road car.

As speeds increase the McLaren P1 continues to stop without any signs of fade – while 62mph to zero is accomplished in 2.9 seconds and 30.2 metres, stopping from 124 mph is achieved in 4.5 seconds and 116 metres, while from 186 mph the P1 stops in a head-rushing 6.2 seconds and 246 metres.

Nürburgring lap record

At its Geneva Motor Show launch in March, McLaren Chairman Ron Dennis claimed the P1 would be the fastest car around the Nürburgring Nordschleife with a lap time well under 7 minutes.

That threshold has already been eclipsed by the Porsche 918 Spyder, which last month set a time of 6 minutes 57 seconds, while Ferrari’s LaFerrari has also been lapping the ‘ring, whether to set a fast lap time or merely to mess with McLaren’s resolve.

YouTube user swsthebest1994 claims to have timed the P1 around the Nürburgring in 6 minutes 47 seconds, although this has yet to be confirmed by McLaren.

Earlier this year an image leaked onto the internet of an official McLaren presentation slide showing a time of 6 minutes 33.26 seconds next to a track layout of the Nürburgring, leading many to assume the job had already been done.

McLaren’s P1 was back at the ‘ring last week, with official test driver Colin Goodwin at the wheel, so expect an official announcement before the winter weather sets in next month.