McLaren Speedtail Nails 250mph Run At Kennedy Space Center

McLaren has taken a step closer to its Speedtail production with the very successful conclusion of high-speed testing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Chief test driver Kenny Brack got the British company’s latest hypercar, prototype number XP2, up to its top speed of 250mph (403kph) not once, but more than 30 times on the same runway the Space Shuttle uses to land at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds.

This concludes McLaren’s overall high-speed testing for the Speedtail, a program that also took place at other facilities around the world including Idiada in Spain and Papenburg in Germany.

The Speedtail is, according to McLaren, the fastest and most technically advanced car the company has ever produced. The carbon fibre-bodied three seater has a hybrid electric powertrain with a combined 1,055 horsepower and 848 lb.-ft. of torque, and will accelerate to 186mph (200kph) in less than 13 seconds – faster than what most cars can do up to 60mph.

Hand assembly of the first of just 106 planned Speedtails is already underway at the McLaren Production Centre in Woking, UK, with the first deliveries planned for February.

*Images courtesy of McLaren Automotive