Meet The World’s Only Rotary-Powered McLaren P1

When it comes to crazy builds, there couldn’t possibly be a more perfect pairing than Mad Mike Whiddett and Lanzante. The former creates and competes in some of the wildest rotary-powered drift builds ever made, and the latter refines and enhances supercars and sports cars in ways that many would say are impossible (see the 930 TAG Turbo, an F1-powered Porsche, for just one example of Lanzante’s lunacy). The two have now joined forces to create Mad Mac, a McLaren racecar (likely a 650S GT3) that has been torn apart and rebuilt to become the world’s first and only McLaren P1 GTR (lookalike) drift hypercar. This astonishing beast was converted by Mad Mike’s MadLab team in just 100 days and is a celebration of 10 years since the New Zealand-born drifter introduced the Goodwood Festival of Speed to the art of drifting, and it makes more sense than you might originally think. After all, McLaren was founded by a trailblazing Kiwi who pushed boundaries and dared to dream of the impossible.

Signature Rotary Power

This isn’t Mad Mike’s first supercar drift build. You may recall that in 2019, Mad Mike was given the opportunity to modify a Lamborghini Huracán dubbed NIMBUL. He fitted a widebody kit and gave it a big shot of nitrous, but Sant’Agata refused to allow the 5.2-liter V10 to be ripped out. Forced induction was also prohibited. Without direct involvement from the original manufacturers this time around, Mad Mike was given full creative license, and boy, did he use it well. The FIA-spec rollcage was retained, and so were the sequential transmission and the carbon fiber chassis, but the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 was not. Instead, a turbocharged three-rotor billet 20B engine was fitted, which required a custom transfer case to fit the X-Trac six-speed sequential, itself boasting a massive quad-plate five-inch carbon clutch.

The original GT3-style paddles were also removed in favor of a gaming-style shifter, and a hydraulic handbrake was added to easily initiate slides. Speaking of, wider front arches were fitted to accommodate the increased steering angles enabled by a custom rack and control arms. Öhlins suspension keeps everything stable, and a Haltech Nexus RS ECU handles boost from the Garret GT45 turbo, controlled by twin Turbosmart wastegates. The result is a 1,000-hp peripheral port monster that eviscerates the ear drums through a custom titanium four-inch exhaust.

Rocket Bunny Bodywork

Once the mechanical elements were completed, Mad Mike tested the Mad Mac in several shakedown runs, which can be viewed in Mad Mike’s build series on YouTube. Once happy with the suspension geometry, grip levels, power delivery, and everything else that makes a drift car as happy to slide as this, the build was sent to the creative minds at Rocket Bunny, where a custom widebody kit was created. This is complemented by custom wheels from Rotiform and Work measuring 19×9.5 inches in front and a whopping 20×14 inches at the rear, wrapped in Toyo rubber.

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Lanzante Ready To Start Modding More Than Just McLarens

And it’s planning a new bespoke supercar every year at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Tomorrow, it will take to the Duke of Richmond’s driveway to thrill crowds at the Goodwood Festival of Speed before later embarking on a two-year journey around the world, which will be captured in a documentary format. This is a fantastic build and a great way to blend the somewhat austere world of high society with the heart-pounding excitement of a sport that’s all about showmanship. The only question is, where do Mad Mike and Lanzante go from here?