One-off McLaren Speedtail Albert nods to hypercar's heritage

Woking's 250mph hypercar is almost ready to bow out, but not without a tribute to its F1 forebear

A one-off McLaren Speedtail has been designed to pay homage to the first completed prototype of the 250mph hypercar, and arrives as production of the 106 Speedtails comes to a close. 

The special edition, named Albert, was conceived by the McLaren Beverly Hills dealership in the US for a private buyer and manufactured and painted by the firm’s in-house customisation team, McLaren Special Operations (MSO). 

The Albert features a mix of Magnesium Silver exterior paint, similar to the colour worn by the Speedtail's F1 forefather when it was launched at the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix, and Ueno Grey, representing the F1 GTR that won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1995. 

The car also gains a unique streamlined-style livery to accentuate the paintwork. It took 12 weeks to create. 

"As one of the very last Speedtails to be built at the McLaren Production Centre, it was very important to us at McLaren Beverly Hills that Albert honours the brand’s rich heritage, particularly paying tribute to the icon that is the McLaren F1,” said Parris Mullins of McLaren Beverly Hills.  

The car was named Albert in reference to the name of the 1992 McLaren F1 test mules, themselves named after Albert Drive in Woking, where Gordon Murray's seminal supercar was designed and built. 

The original MVY02 Speedtail prototype was also was named Albert as a tribute to its predecessor. It was built to assess the Speedtail’s central driving position and ergonomics, visibility and rear-view camera positions. It was originally built with the front panels from a 720S and was the first Speedtail to be driven on public roads.

“The name Albert has a special resonance with MSO, as we're the custodians of the McLaren F1 and are based at the Albert Drive premises that McLaren Cars occupied in the 1990s,” said MSO managing director Ansar Ali.

“The Speedtail experience has been an exciting journey for our customers, from visualising their imaginations to realising these inspirations and sharing their delight when unveiling the finished product. Albert brings this project to a conclusion, and we're thrilled to finish on a high note.”

The Albert will make a public debut at Los Angeles' Sunset GT, a luxury-oriented Cars and Coffee event, on Sunday 8 August.

*READ MORE*

*McLaren GT review*

*McLaren Group receives £550 million capital injection*

*New McLaren 765LT Spider tops Super Series range*