Mika Häkkinen returned to the wheel of a single-seat V10-powered McLaren once again at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, with a dramatic appearance on the famous
The Finnish driver and double Formula 1 World Champion with McLaren stormed up the Goodwood Hill in a McLaren Solus GT finished as a beautifully crafted tribute to the McLaren MP4/13 that he drove in 1998 – and starred at the Festival of Speed only last year in 2023.
Häkkinen won the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championships in 1998 and 1999, capturing McLaren’s third and fourth drivers’ titles of the sport’s fabled V10 era. His championship charge in 1998 was instrumental in also delivering McLaren’s 8th World Constructors’ Championship. He and teammate David Coulthard won nine races that season, on the way to title glory for the team.
Bringing Häkkinen’s heroic McLaren legacy into the 21st century, the McLaren Solus GT driven by the Formula 1 legend at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed is just one of 25 customer cars produced. Its owner, a self-confessed McLaren Formula 1 and Mika Häkkinen fanatic, tasked McLaren Special Operations (MSO) with hand-painting his Solus GT as a stunning tribute to the famous Finn’s MP4/13 racer.
Displaying hallmark MSO craftsmanship, the livery comprises expertly blended colours that are faithful to the MP4/13 chassis as it is today, rather than the hues of the Formula 1 car in 1998. In a further display of authenticity, the livery was applied by a member of the MSO paint team who painted the MP4/13 cars in period, for the 1998 season.
“Driving the Solus GT is an experience that reminds me of my time racing with McLaren. A true single-seater with incredible V10 power and sound – just incredible!”
Mika Häkkinen, two-time Formula 1 World Champion with McLaren
The Solus GT, revealed in August 2022, sees McLaren make real its expression of the ultimate single seat track-only hypercar from the virtual world. Based on the McLaren Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo concept car envisaged for the Gran Turismo SPORT video game, only 25 customer cars will be made, with deliveries underway.
The Solus GT weighs less than 1,000kg and is powered by a naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 engine that can rev to in excess of 10,000rpm and develops 840PS. The incredible aerodynamics of the optimised bodywork and floor, honed by both wind tunnel research and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) are capable of generating over 1,200kg of downforce. The amalgamation of ultra-lightweight engineering, power, and incredible aerodynamic optimisation means that the Solus GT is capable of the fastest lap times of any McLaren outside of single-seater racing and delivers a driving experience close to the engagement and sensation of driving a Formula 1 car.
The Solus GT returned to the Hill this year with Mika Häkkinen at the wheel just 12 months after the Finn drove an MP4/13 at the 2023 event – and McLaren factory driver Marvin Kirchhöfer claimed victory in a Solus GT in Sunday’s Timed Shootout Final, with a time of 45.342 seconds. That sensational performance meant that McLaren had the quickest car at Goodwood for the second time in three years, after the 720S GT3X took honours in 2021.
A video of Mika driving this special Solus GT on the Goodwood hillclimb can be found here.
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Notes to editors:
A selection of high resolution images accompanying this release is available to download from the McLaren Automotive media site – cars.mclaren.press
About McLaren Automotive:
McLaren Automotive is a producer of ultra high-performance, lightweight supercars. Launched in 2010, the company is now the largest part of the McLaren Group.
Headquartered at the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking, Surrey, England, McLaren Automotive is driven by the challenge of creating the world’s most exhilarating, engaging and benchmark setting vehicles. Leveraging the McLaren name’s 60-year history of authentic, racing performance, it has delivered some of the most spectacular supercars ever made.
The company’s product portfolio of GTS, supercar, Motorsport and Ultimate models are retailed in over 40 markets around the world. Its cars are assembled by hand at the McLaren Production Centre (MPC), based on the same campus as MTC in Woking.
McLaren is a pioneer that continuously pushes the boundaries. In 1981, it introduced lightweight and strong carbon fibre chassis technology into Formula 1 with the McLaren MP4/1.
Then in 1993 it designed and built the legendary McLaren F1 road car. Built around a carbon fibre chassis, it established McLaren’s supercar DNA, realised for the 21st century in 2011 with the introduction of the McLaren 12C – McLaren Automotive’s first production car.
McLaren was the first to deliver a hybrid hypercar, the McLaren P1™, in 2013. Launching the Ultimate Series of vehicles, P1™ was followed by the McLaren Senna in 2018 and its track-only GTR derivative followed a year later. 2019 also saw the introduction of the Speedtail hybrid hyper-GT. Its most recent Ultimate model, Elva, is the lightest McLaren road car ever.
McLaren’s LT models represent the ultimate expression of track performance in series production supercars. The name stems from the ‘Longtail’ version of the F1 GTR, introduced in 1997, and was incorporated into McLaren Automotive nomenclature in 2015 with the arrival of the McLaren 650S-based 675LT coupe and Spider. In 2018, the LT legend continued with the McLaren 570S-based 600LT. The latest chapter in the LT story was written in 2020 and 2021, with the introduction of the 765LT coupe and Spider.
Also in 2021, the company unveiled its all-new high-performance hybrid supercar, the McLaren Artura. The Artura is the first McLaren to benefit from the McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA). The MCLA is designed, developed and manufactured at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre in the Sheffield region of England using world-first processes and will spearhead the brand’s electrified future.
2022 saw McLaren announce the Solus GT, a single-seat, closed-cockpit track car which brought to life a futuristic concept that was originally created for virtual gaming.
In 2023, McLaren unveiled its lightest and most powerful series-production supercar, the 750S – a thorough development of the award-winning 720S supercar. McLaren also introduced the new GTS, replacing the McLaren GT.
The McLaren Artura Spider was revealed in early 2024 as the brand’s first high-performance hybrid convertible. Its introduction was part of a major model year uplift for the Artura nameplate, and meant McLaren’s series-production line-up of GTS, new Artura and 750S had been introduced within 12 months of each other.
McLaren Automotive also chooses to partner with like-minded, world-leading companies and organisations who push the boundaries in their respective fields. These include Ashurst, Bowers & Wilkins, Dynisma, Gulf, Monroe, Pirelli, Plan International, Richard Mille and Tumi.
About McLaren Group:
The McLaren Group is a global leader in high-performance supercar production and elite motorsports.
Founded in 1963 by racer, engineer and entrepreneur Bruce McLaren, the Group is formed of McLaren Automotive, which hand-builds lightweight supercars and races them in global series, including the World Endurance Championship; and a majority stake in McLaren Racing which competes in the Formula 1 World Championship, INDYCAR series, Formula E, Extreme E and F1 Academy.
The Group is globally headquartered at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England.
With a reputation for innovation and technological excellence, McLaren is one of the UK’s largest independent companies.
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