The development programme for the fastest and most technically advanced McLaren ever has concluded in fitting fashion with McLaren Chief Test Driver, Kenny Brack, taking the new Speedtail up to its maximum speed of 403km/h at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, U.S.A.

The final high-speed tests in the ground-breaking hypercar's extensive engineering validation process saw the Speedtail prototype 'XP2' reach its maximum speed more than 30 times on the space shuttle landing runway at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds.

The exercise concluded a programme of high-speed running carried out at multiple test facilities worldwide, including Idiada in Spain and Papenburg in Germany.

Production of the first of 106 Speedtails has now commenced at the McLaren Production Centre in Woking, U.K., with deliveries scheduled from February 2020.

The Speedtail's petrol-electric hybrid powertrain delivers the greatest power and torque of any McLaren road car, with a combined 1,036bhp and 1,150Nm. The straight-line acceleration and maximum speed of the car sets new benchmarks for McLaren, with zero to 300km/h achieved in less than 13 seconds.