Original McLaren P1 designer says what he has in store for Tavarish’s flood-rescued P1 will blow everyone away

The original McLaren P1 designer is creating a brand-new, upgraded version of the iconic model after he was approached to rebuild the flooded supercar that was rescued after Hurricane Ian in Florida.

The McLaren P1 is one of the best cars ever produced by the British manufacturer, preceding the F1 and pushing combustion engineering to the max before making way for the hybrid W1.

But it is over a decade old now, and supercars have come a long way since then.

Now, the original McLaren P1 designer has found a chance to have a ‘second bite of the apple’ and create a one-of-one rebuild, all while giving a flooded supercar a complete revival.

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Original McLaren P1 designer transforms flood-damaged supercar

Back in September 2022, this one-of-375 McLaren P1 was washed up in a hurricane, causing devastation in the supercar world.

But YouTube personality Tavarish bought the $2m car at a quarter of the price, saying that watching it get claimed by the flood made him ‘sick to his stomach’.

Since then, he’s been hellbent on restoring it, pouring ‘every cent I have’ to let the flooded supercar have a second shot at life on the road.

Earlier this month, the YouTube star hit the jackpot when he partnered with the P1’s original designer, Frank Stephenson, to give this incredible and rugged supercar a completely new look.

In a new upload on Stephenson’s own YouTube channel, he’s now claimed that this is his chance to have a ‘second bite of the apple’ when designing the McLaren P1 and making it even better than it was.

“That is in itself is probably one of the most exciting projects that we as a studio could work on,” he said.

“The objective is: Take as much of the character of the original P1 and go for it.”

And so the one-of-one McLaren P1 Evo was born.

A one-of-one longtail P1 ‘Evo’ on the drawing table

Taking what he learnt from the W1, Stephenson identified that the P1 would need a longer tail – a part of the recent McLaren supercar that has become iconic.

In an upload to his channel, the McLaren P1 designer revealed three fully-rendered designs that have a new ‘Delta Wing’, changing the aerodynamics of the supercar that could make it the ‘fastest P1 ever built’.

Of course, this also comes on the back of a complete rebuild of the internal engine system, which got very soggy in the flood.

“At the end of the day, we’ve come up with an idea that perhaps is going to achieve the results we’re looking for. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t,” he said.

“At the same time, because it’s quite dramatic, it’s going to blow a lot of people away in terms of why haven’t McLaren perhaps done something like this to the P1 and taken it another step higher.”

The entire rebuild is set to be documented on both the Tavarish and Frank Stephenson YouTube channels, so stay tuned. The post Original McLaren P1 designer says what he has in store for Tavarish’s flood-rescued P1 will blow everyone away appeared first on Supercar Blondie.