Otto Explains — Engines & Drivetrains
Iconic McLaren Engines & Drivetrains
Short Answer
McLaren’s most important road-car engines are the F1’s BMW V12, its own twin-turbo V8 engines, the Artura’s V6 and the W1’s MHP-8. The F1 used a 6.1-litre V12 built by BMW; the V8 family began with the 3.8-litre M838T in the 12C and grew into the 4.0-litre M840T; the 3.0-litre M630 V6 powers the hybrid Artura; and the MHP-8 V8 drives the W1. Most modern McLarens have the engine behind the driver, a seamless-shift gearbox and rear-wheel drive.
Which engines have powered McLaren road cars?
Four engine families tell the story. The McLaren F1 used a 6.1-litre V12 from BMW. McLaren Automotive’s first car, the 12C, introduced a twin-turbo V8, the M838T, which McLaren developed with Ricardo and later grew from 3.8 to 4.0 litres. The Artura of 2021 brought a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, the M630, combined with an electric motor, and the W1 of 2024 introduced the MHP-8, a new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 hybrid.
What engine powered the McLaren F1?
The F1 used a naturally aspirated 6.1-litre V12 from BMW, known as the McLaren/BMW S70/2, which McLaren’s own history rates at 627 hp. It had a six-speed manual gearbox, changed with the right hand from the F1’s central driving seat.
What is the McLaren M838T engine?
The M838T is a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 with its cylinders at 90 degrees and dry-sump lubrication, with its oil held in a separate tank. It is mounted lengthways in the middle of the car and drives the rear wheels. McLaren developed it with the engineering company Ricardo; the code stands for McLaren, 8 cylinders, 3.8 litres, Turbo. In the 12C it produced 600 PS at launch and later 625 PS, and it won its class in the International Engine of the Year awards in 2013.
How did the 3.8-litre V8 change from car to car?
McLaren adapted it with letters added to the code. The Sports Series used the M838TE, with 30 percent new components and 570 PS in the 570S. In the P1, a substantially revised 3.8-litre V8 was combined with an electric motor; McLaren called the combination M838TQ, with 916 PS in total.
What changed with the 4.0-litre M840T?
The 720S of 2017 introduced the M840T, a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with 41 percent new parts compared with the 3.8-litre engine, and ultra-low-inertia twin-scroll turbochargers that spool up more quickly for sharper throttle response. It produced 720 PS and 770 Nm in the 720S. The Senna’s version, coded M840TR, has a flat-plane crankshaft and dry-sump lubrication, and in the current 750S the 4.0-litre V8 produces 750 PS and 800 Nm. Otto explains how turbochargers work in turbocharger vs supercharger.
Why did McLaren move to a V6 in the Artura?
For packaging and weight. The Artura’s M630 is a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 with an unusually wide 120-degree angle between its cylinder banks, which lets the turbochargers sit between the banks in a ‘hot vee’. On its own it produces 585 PS, and it is 190 mm shorter, 220 mm narrower and 50 kg lighter than McLaren’s 4.0-litre V8. It broke the V8 convention that had begun with the 12C. With the electric motor, the Artura produces 700 PS.
What is the MHP-8 engine in the W1?
The MHP-8 is the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that debuted in the W1 in 2024. It produces 928 PS on its own, or 233 PS per litre, the highest output of any McLaren engine, and revs to 9,200 rpm. An E-module, combining a radial flux electric motor with its control unit, adds 347 PS for a total of 1,275 PS.
What gearboxes do McLarens use?
The F1 had a six-speed manual. The 12C introduced McLaren’s seven-speed Seamless Shift dual-clutch Gearbox (SSG), with a function called Pre-Cog, from pre-cognition; the 750S and GTS still list a seven-speed SSG. The Artura moved to an eight-speed seamless-shift gearbox with no reverse gear, and the W1 has an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox with electric reverse. Otto explains how a dual-clutch gearbox works in DSG transmission explained.
How do McLaren’s hybrid systems work?
They pair a petrol engine with an electric motor. The P1’s IPAS, the Instant Power Assist System, was developed from the energy recovery system used in Formula 1. In the Artura, a 15.4 kg axial flux motor sits inside the gearbox bell-housing and also reverses the car by running backwards. In the W1, the E-module adds 347 PS. McLaren says its hybrid strategy began with the P1. Otto explains the types of hybrid in hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric cars explained.
What is McLaren Brake Steer?
Brake Steer brakes the inside rear wheel when a car enters a corner too fast, to reduce understeer, the tendency to run wide. It was first used on McLaren’s championship-winning MP4-13 Formula 1 car, where it was banned, and was then adopted on the 12C road car.
Do McLarens drive all four wheels?
The McLaren road cars covered here drive their rear wheels only. The 12C’s M838T drove the rear wheels, the Artura’s electronic differential sends drive to the rear wheels, and the W1, with 1,275 PS, still drives only its rear wheels. The McL 6GT concept of 2026 is also rear-wheel drive.
What comes next for McLaren engines?
In September 2026 McLaren said its future engines and transmissions would be designed and built in-house for the first time, starting with two new engines, to support its hybrid strategy. The McL 6GT concept also brings back a manual gearbox, the first in a McLaren since the F1, with a production version planned for 2028.
Common Questions
- Does McLaren build its own engines? It designs them, with partners in the past: the M838T was developed with Ricardo. McLaren says its future engines and transmissions will be designed and built in-house for the first time.
- What does M838T mean? McLaren, 8 cylinders, 3.8 litres, Turbo.
- Why does the Artura have no reverse gear? Its electric motor runs backwards to reverse the car, so the gearbox needs no reverse gear; this helped make the gear cluster 40 mm shorter.
- Which is McLaren’s most powerful engine? The W1’s MHP-8 V8, with 928 PS on its own, or 233 PS per litre.
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