Lanzante’s building a three-seat supercar with 700bhp per tonne

A new three-seat supercar with stupendous power is on the horizon, and it’s arriving via the medium of McLaren enthusiasts Lanzante. Welcome to the beginning of ‘Project 95-59’.

Any self-respecting McLaren enthusiast will immediately be able to decipher that moniker: it’s a homage to McLaren’s 1995 Le Mans win in the #59 F1 GTR, a car campaigned and run by… that’s right, Lanzante.

“Lanzante will honour this legacy with its most ambitious project to date,” read a statement.

It’ll be a three-seat layout – just like the original McLaren F1 and Gordon Murray T.50 – spun off a ‘McLaren platform’. Lanzante hasn't revealed which platform, only saying it'll be a 'current' supercar. So while it looks suspiciously like a P1 in a dapper new suit, it'll actually use something new.

There’s the promise of “enhanced touring range”, lots of luggage space, a focus on “engineering, technical, ownership and useability”, and putting the driver (quite literally) at the centre of the action.

There’s also the promise of 700bhp per tonne, delivered via a non-hybrid engine. Again, Lanzante hasn't divulged exactly what'll power Project 95-59, but it won't be helped along by electrons. It will be... punchy; consider the 750S delivers around 530-odd horsepower per tonne, and you're looking at a very Serious Car.

“The driver-focused model has been penned by renowned automotive designer Paul Howse,” said Lanzante. Howse did the original P1. And P1 GTR. And 720S. So he knows his way around a fast McLaren.

The ‘bespoke-engineered’ car’s design has already been shown to customers ahead of a full public debut at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. And though Lanzante won't confirm exactly how 'limited' the limited production is, we suspect between 50 to 100 examples of this three-seat supercar with stupendous power will be built. Likely because it's called Project 95-59...