Car manufacturers go to the ends of the earth, quite literally, to ensure that their new models are as well-engineered and durable as possible.
This normally involves quite a bit of hot- and cold-weather testing. You see, cars are bought by all sorts of different folk from around the world and therefore need to be able to work reliably in both sub-zero temperatures and sub-Saharan heat.
This is why McLaren has taken its forthcoming P1 up into the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden. Here, the car was "put through its paces and tested to the extremes, in some of the most hostile and toughest conditions on the planet."
Now, given that only 375 examples of the P1 are to be built, most of which will be mollycoddled by adoring owners like family pets, you could argue that McLaren is going overboard with this whole durability kick. The firm even says that its target is for the P1 to be "the best driver’s car in the world on road and track... or a frozen lake, for that matter." A noble goal, I'm sure you'll agree; however, we think it's unlikely that many owners, having spent £866,000 on a brand-new McLaren, are going to take their car straight to the nearest frozen lake.
Of course, McLaren's obsession in creating the ultimate driver's car has to be commended, no matter how silly its ultra-fastidious methods may seem. Plus, a side-product of all this winter testing is that you get brilliant videos like the one featured below. Watching the P1 being driven across a frozen lake on opposite lock, its twin-turbo 3.8-litre V8 feeding its 903bhp to the rear wheels, surely is enough to justify McLaren's efforts on its own.
Click on the image to see the vid.
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