What has only been built in 375 differing variations and offered exclusively to be hand crafted over the past three years?  The McLaren P1 is the right answer and as the final version of the car rolled off into the sunset for which it was painted after we can only look back and admire what this car has been and what it represents for us.

So far there is no planned successor to the P1 and once the track ready P1 GTRs are finished in the early part of next year the car will be no more and the assembly line will be shut down, at least until there is a worthy successor.  With that thought we can take a look at what the P1 has meant to use as a car that was more exclusive than the Porsche 918 and the Ferrari LaFerrari but also gave us every bit of the imagination and intrigue as the other two; in fact in many ways it gave us more.

The P1 showed us what the use of carbon fiber and a hybrid powertrain could really achieve in order to create the production vehicle we would all love to drive.  With the unique styling that has become a signature of McLaren the P1 was more of a labor of love and a drive that the few who purchased them had the pleasure to drive.  These cars took 105 workers 800 man hours and 17 days to produce each one and all of them are different in some way.  With the price that was attached to them you would expect the P1 to be as different as possible and by using the hand crafting and the ordering process of the McLaren Special Operations each one was different from the others.

The P1, using its carbon monocoque, was powered by a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine that was attached to a seven-speed DCT automatic and boosted by a hybrid electric setup to increase the power to a massive 903 horsepower.  This gave us a car that could reach sixty mph in less than 2.8 seconds and offered a top speed of 217 mph.  This certainly made this ultra-super exclusive car one of a kind and gave us a car that was ready to be the most exciting hybrid super sports car on the market for the short time it was on sale.

The McLaren P1 debuted at the Paris Motor Show in 2012 and gave us a look at the successor to the F1 which would win our hearts for the next three years.  While we lament the idea that this will no longer be a car that is available to us, and enjoy the new 570S that has come to market, we can all but wonder if McLaren has something more up their sleeves in the form of a new Ultimate Series car.  Only time will tell us if they plan to ever have a successor to the P1; this is an icon that will be difficult to beat.