Probably not, but this photo begs to differ. It’s a shot of a beautiful McLaren P1 in all its beauty cruising down the Queensland roads. It’s getting a bit of traction online this morning, but we think its fake. Here’s why.
DailyAutoFix first reported the spot on Queenslands roads of a car that certainly looks like the mythic McLaren P1. A nice spot to be sure.
It came from a Facebook page called Brisbane/Gold Coast Car Spotting, which does a great job of posting awesome cars spotted on roads up North. Here’s the post:
Another nice spot, but look closer: we think it’s fake. Here are a few reasons.
1.
McLaren Australia’s sales team and the company’s Australian head of distribution told us this morning when we asked that there hasn’t been a single McLaren P1 sold in this country. Why? Simply because they weren’t any released into this market for sale.
Only 300 of the cars were made, and most of those were sold around the United Arab Emirates and reportedly into Europe.
Furthermore, McLaren promises that there isn’t a prototype (the X1) or a press car of any description in Australia. Why would there be if nobody can buy one? You don’t need to waste time and money as a luxury car company to hype a car that nobody can buy here.
McLaren says that there’s every possibility it’s the 650S.
Then there are the problems with the image itself.
2.
Why does the Mitsubishi Mirage at a distance of around 40-50 metres look like it’s the same height as the hunkered-down McLaren P1? The two have a distinct difference in ride height, and yet the comparison between it and the Toyota truck in front of it looks odd to say the least
3.
The shadow is much too rounded. There’d be more diffusion if it were real. Also that mirror looks pretty weird sticking out so far in the shadow when the sun is on the other side of the car.
4.
There’s no reflection of a bright orange car on the hood of the car the photographer is riding.
What do you think? Is it real? Tell us in the comments!