‘It has all the performance of a McLaren 12C… and all the subtlety of Liberace in a cape.’
Imagine telling McLaren: ‘I want a car resembling a 1930s Mercedes, a 1960s Buick, and a spaceship.’
And McLaren saying: ‘Fine. We’ll build it. Just once.’
That’s the X-1 — a one-off coach-built supercar that is so secretive that it makes MI6 look leaky.
Underneath? MP4-12C performance.
Outside? A rolling art deco hallucination.
The X-1 isn’t a car. It’s Bond villain chic, with number plates.
In 2009, a mysterious long-time McLaren customer commissioned something truly mad: a bespoke car with 1930s elegance and modern firepower.
The inspiration board? A Mercedes 540K, a Facel Vega, an Airstream trailer, and – inexplicably – a Jaeger-LeCoultre clock.
Between 2010–2012: McLaren Special Operations Gets to Work
A young intern, Hong Yeo, pens the design. It’s immediately accepted.
‘The sort of intern you don’t send out for coffee.’
Eighteen months of sketching, followed by 2.5 years of testing, sculpting, and probably head-scratching.
The car is built on the MP4-12C’s chassis, but not a single panel is shared.
All carbon, all black, and all utterly unhinged.
It has faired-in rear wheels, a black piano finish, bright nickel work, and rear lights that resemble sci-fi jewellery.
616bhp, 0–60 in a shade over 3 seconds, and over 200mph. All with redesigned air vents. Obviously.
2012: The Big Reveal
In 201, the X-1 debuted at The Quail in California. Public gawks. McLaren shrugs. The owner vanishes into the mist.
Summary:
The X-1 is what happens when money meets madness… and McLaren says yes.
‘Commissioning the X-1 is the automotive equivalent of asking Savile Row to tailor your boiler suit.’
