No, you can’t get an unpainted McLaren P1 – at least not yet

By Nick Jaynes Published June 18, 2013

McLaren P1 at Goodwood — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Just because you can afford a McLaren P1 doesn’t mean that you’re the sharpest crayon in the box, it would seem.

Recently a P1 buyer assumed that because he saw a ‘bare carbon fiber option’ on the P1 order sheet that it would be a freebee. You know, because all upgradeable options – especially on a hypercar – are gratis.

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Confused by this assumption, Cars UK dug a bit deeper and found that the future P1 owner was half right. McLaren did in fact offer a bare carbon fiber option but it only for the roof, front bumper section and the sections within the doors (as you can see in the photo above). When probed, McLaren admitted that, yes, this upgrade was free but any future full-body bare carbon fiber upgrade would not be.

Pagani, for example, offers a full-body bare carbon fiber upgrade for an eye-watering $150,000. How much will the McLaren package cost? The bespoke British automaker hasn’t yet decided.

If it were our money, we’d just go for the free partial bare carbon fiber upgrade. It works well as an accent and sparing use of the exposed carbon fiber draws attention to its dark, detailed design. Having an entire carbon fiber body would simply look like a shiny black car from far away, which sort of defeats the point.

If and when McLaren offers the full bare carbon fiber option, we’ll let you know.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…

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