Classic McLaren racer rebooted

Celebrated F1 engineer brings lightweight MIA back to life as a 700bhp-per-tonne supercar

- FELIX PAGE

The N1A supercar is a British-made, V8powered, ultra-light tribute to one of McLaren's best-known race cars.

It is the product of Hampshire-based Nichols Cars, the eponymous outfit of renowned motorsport engineer Steve Nichols, whose pioneering work with carbonfibre was instrumental in McLaren's domination of the 1988 Formula 1 world championship, with Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna driving the Honda-powered MP4/4 to victory in 15 out of 16 races.

Nichols' inspiration was the McLaren M1A - a ferocious Group 7-spec prototype, and the first race car designed from the ground up by the British firm.

It was powered by an Oldsmobile-sourced small-block V8, weighed just 551kg and later evolved into the similarly designed M1B and M1C, which saw high-profile success in America's Can-Am series.