A Drift Mode Is Coming To The New McLaren Super Series

Drifting a McLaren is about to get a whole lot less terrifyingly risky. The company has let slip that the next Super Series cars, codenamed P14, will use a more advanced, driver-adjustable stability control system including Variable Drift Control.

This is good news. The system will let committed drivers push past the limits of grip into smooth, graceful slides that make the gurning driver look like a boss, without risking immediately swapping ends and facing back the way they came.

McLaren is making some bold claims for the new Super Series, too, saying in a press release that it will have the “widest breadth of dynamic ability of any McLaren.”

There’s a new Proactive Chassis Control II setup, which feeds far more data to the central computer than before, analysing more data, faster, to extract even more grip from the no doubt short-lived tyres.

Comfort, Sport and Track driving modes will be standard on P14 series cars, delivering different feels and responses as per usual, but expect Comfort to be more comfortable and Track to be more butt-clenchingly extreme.

“Proactive Chassis Control II generates a significant amount of additional grip, but not at the expense of the balance and feel of the car,” explained Mark Vinnels, Executive Director – Product Development, at McLaren Automotive.

“The depth and breadth of handling precision and ride comfort in combination with the peerless level of driver involvement in the second-generation McLaren Super Series is simply extraordinary.” That’s marketing speak for “it’ll be bloody quick around corners.”

The new car is going to be released at the Geneva Motor Show in March, around which time full details will emerge. Looking forward to it?