The Senna is available in a single trim line of which 500 examples would be produced, while there are other, more expensive rarer versions of the car available that include the Senna GTR, Senna LM, and Senna GT LM. Only 75 Senna GTRs would be made while this number drops down to 20 in the case of the Senna LM whereas the GTR LM is the rarest of which only 5 numbers would be made. We would only be covering the base Senna here, as it only is a road-legal version and all others are track-only variants. The following table depicts the most important features in the 2022 McLaren Senna-

We Recommend

The Senna is only available in a single trim, but there are a lot of customization options and a plethora of optional features available to equip into the car to make it truly yours. You could go for a full, all-around carbon fiber finish for the whole exterior of the car which would set you back by more than $2,00,000. Or your could for numerous other options including a Bowers & Wilkins sound system for around $7,500 as there is no standard audio unit inside the Senna and this is the only option to get one, lower and upper glass panels on the door, the telemetry pack. While these are all highly expensive, there are also some no-cost options you could choose from including a touring seat, three different wheel finishes, and an exhaust heat shield. 

2022 McLaren Senna Release Date

The 2022 McLaren Senna is already on sale, but getting one would be tricky as all of the 500 units had been sold out years back and some of them are still being delivered. But the McLaren website does offer the option to show interest in the Senna, and who knows, maybe you could get lucky if you have the right connections and if you throw in the right amount of money. But still, getting a new Senna would still have a questionable chance. 

The Senna is powered by a 4.0 L (3,994cc) twin electrically-actuated twin-scroll turbocharged 32 valve SOHC VVT V8 engine mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch Seamless Shift Gearbox (SSG). This setup is praised as the holy grail of powertrains by McLaren as the V8 engine is tuned to output an extreme amount of power and torque while it doesn’t weigh as much as the V12 engines equipped inside the competitors. This setup combined with the extremely low weight and a mindblowing amount of more than 1700 lbs of downforce generated makes the Senna a beast on the track. The Senna comes with a Race mode that lowers the suspension by 1.5 inches in front and 1.2 inches in the rear while switching the car's adaptive dampers to the most performance-oriented setting unleashing the full potential of the already capable Senna. 

The Senna takes just 2.7 seconds to reach a speed of 60mph and crosses the quarter-mile mark in 10 seconds flat. These figures are so much superior to the competition and while considering the fact that this one is not an electric supercar and comes with a regular gas V8 under the hood with no electric assist or any such wizardry makes us appreciate the engineering excellence of McLaren even more. The McLaren Senna also features a lightweight exhaust system artistically crafted with Inconel and titanium while the ‘slash cut’ pipes exit through the rear deck. The volume of the exhaust increases by 10dB for every 2,000rpm, delivering an impressive and thunderous exhaust note.

While looking at numbers, the 2022 Ferrari 812 Competizione which is a boosted-out special edition of the Ferrari 812 Superfast is the most powerful on paper. Now let’s keep that fact aside, as the increased power output doesn’t match the sheer strength of the McLaren Senna. The Senna being the only one here with a V8 under the hood, still clearly outperforms the competition, but it is also expected to do so considering the fact that it is two times more expensive than the others. However, the value-for-money deal here is the Lambo, which is the least expensive option while being ferociously powerful.

I know that this whole segment is the most insignificant thing while evaluating the capabilities of this particular machine or its competitors. But to satisfy the curiosity of some people, let’s do this. As anyone would expect, the Senna is not an efficient machine, and it was not aimed to be one right from the beginning. But still, having a V8 under the hood, and not a V12, it does perform pretty well. The McLaren Senna outputs an efficiency of around 14 mpg in the city, 18 on the highway, and a combined efficiency of around 16 mpg. Combined with a 19.0-gallon fuel capacity, the Senna delivers a range of around 266 miles in the urban environment, 342 on the motorway, and around 304 miles in the combined road and driving conditions.

The Senna obviously is the best performer here in terms of efficiency figures, but it also comes with a smaller fuel capacity, which would be an intended move from McLaren to even more reduce the weight of the machine. The Ferrari and Lambo are in the similar territory in terms of fuel economy, but the Ferrari provides the most range as it comes with the largest fuel capacity. That’s it, the mpg figures of these machines are what they are and no one would expect them to deliver more.

The extreme weight-saving measures have crept into the inside of the cabin also. The Senna features seating for two while those seats are aggressively engineered in order to keep the weight down. The lightweight Carbon fiber bucket seats have been manufactured not via the conventional carbon fiber manufacturing process, but through something McLaren calls double-skin shell technology. This method enabled them to achieve a 33% decrease in the weight of the seats keeping the weight of each seat at a very low 7.3 lbs. Also, comfort has not been given top priority, as the seats are not even fully covered with foam and what they have done is that seven individual seat paddings have been placed at high-pressure points instead of covering up the whole seat. Even the steering wheel is a too simple and barebones unit with no switches or buttons on it. 

However, there are three choices for the thickness of the padding or you could even opt for the available touring seat that provides an extra 45mm of hip room. The cabin of the Senna provides storage space for two racing helmets and racing suits while the customer could also opt for 6-point racing harnesses for the driver as well as passenger. All these measures are taken to remind you that this one is made to be a track beast and is not your regular supercar. The Senna even features a whopping $7,000 MSO Defined powered drink system that consists of a carbon fiber water bottle and its cradle that comes with a hose and a motorized push-to-drink mechanism that can inject water or any drink directly into the driver’s mouth to keep him hydrated during a race. 

If comfort is what you’re looking for, then the Ferrari might be the coziest one here. It also offers the most cargo capacity while the McLaren has the most barebones interior. The McLaren also doesn’t offer any sort of cargo space except for the space for the helmets and racing suits. The following are the most important interior features of the 2022 McLaren Senna- 

• Super-Lightweight carbon fiber racing bucket seats
• SIngle zone air conditioning 
• Three-spoke steering wheel
• Roof-mounted console

How intuitive is the car’s infotainment unit?

The 2022 McLaren Senna comes with a floating infotainment screen that comes with no standard audio system. A seven-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system is an option for a whopping $7,500 while navigation and McLaren Track Telemetry are also optional features. The Track and Telemetry feature provides an option to look at the track and analyze each lap. The portrait-oriented infotainment screen is not the most responsive or intuitive and does have a learning curve to it. That is pretty much it and there are not many infotainment features available inside the Senna. The following are the prominent infotainment features-

• Portrait-oriented infotainment screen
• Bowers and Wilkins 7-speaker audio system
• Navigation
• McLaren Track and Telemetry

The McLaren Senna looks aggressively sporty and all of its exterior components were designed to provide maximum aerodynamics and downforce. And this enables the Senna to produce up to more than 1700 lbs of downforce with the help of the active front aero blades and an active rear wing constructed in carbon fiber increases the overall performance. The all-carbon-fiber body and the Carbon Fiber Monocage 3 body structure are incredibly light while being immensely strong, proving extreme structural rigidity. Also, the rear wing assembly constructed in carbon fiber enables it to support more than 100 times its own weight in downforce. The roof-mounted snorkel intake, as well as the intake plenum above the engine, are also constructed in carbon fiber, in order to lower the center of gravity. 

Now, this is where it gets too serious, McLaren has used a specific shade to paint the Senna which is Calibre Black, a lightweight paint exclusively formulated to reduce the volume of liquid needed to cover the vehicle. This shows us how McLaren has focused on weight-saving even via such extreme measures. The dihedral doors on the McLaren Senna according to McLaren Senna are less than one-third of the weight of the dihedral doors on the McLaren Super Series consisting of the McLaren 700-series supercars. Overall the Senna is a beautiful looking true masterpiece that has got a mindblowing level of engineering excellence behind it. 

All of these machines are feasts to look at as they are all special edition machines from the respective brands. The Lambo is the sharpest and most cutting edge model while the McLaren looks the most serious while the Ferrari looks luxurious and more elegant while also being sporty. After all that talk about the weight reduction measures taken by McLaren, the Senna is obviously the lightest while the Lambo is the heaviest and has the largest proportions while having the lowest ground clearance. The following are the prominent exterior features of the 2022 McLaren Senna-

• 19-inch front and 20-inch rear alloys wheels
• Carbon fiber intake plenum 
• Active carbon fiber rear wing
• Inconel and titanium constructed titanium
• McLaren F1-inspired dihedral doors
• Canopy-style glazed upper door sections
• Active front aero blades 
• Roof-mounted ‘snorkel’ intake

According to McLaren, the Senna features the most advanced braking system ever fitted to a McLaren road car. It comprises carbon-ceramic brakes that utilize racing technology, and each brake disc is constructed in a period of seven months. The Formula 1 inspired front calipers have a monobloc design and consist of six ventilated pistons to reduce temperatures. This braking setup brings the Senna to a stop from 60mph in less than 99 ft. The following are the standout safety features included in the 2022 McLaren Senna-

• ABS
• Traction Control System (ABS)
• Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
• Launch Control
• Variable Drift Control (VDC)

2022 McLaren Senna Coupe vs 2022 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

The Lamborghini Aventador SVJ is a magnificent machine with a screaming V12 under the hood offering blistering acceleration at half the price of the Senna. The Lambo is more street-friendly whereas the Senna is more track-focused. Also, we could just admit the fact that the SVJ is better-looking with its distinct design elements and better road presence compared to the Senna which has a typical McLaren look.

The Lambo also offers a slightly better in-cabin feel with better seats and cargo capacity. The Lambo also gets a better infotainment unit and a standard audio system. So this brings us to the conclusion that the Aventador is the better machine for street and road usage while it doesn’t match the performance of the Senna around the track. 

2022 McLaren Senna Coupe vs 2022 Ferrari 812 Competizione

The Ferrari 812 Competizione is a limited edition model based on the already capable 812 Superfast and comes with increased power output and a higher rev limit while having a more distinct design language. The Competizione can rev up to a whopping 9,500 rpm and with the beautiful-sounding exhaust note, it is a blissful machine to drive.

The interior of the Competizione is also much more luxurious and comfortable compared to the Senna while the Senna has a bareboned interior. The overall ambiance inside the cabin of the Ferrari is much more luscious and you can actually travel comfortably in this supercar, unlike the Senna. The same result applies to this Ferrari also. It is a very powerful, smooth supercar that could be used on the street with an adequate amount of comfort. The Senna however is more precise on the track and offers better performance there.

The 2022 McLaren Senna is a one-of-a-kind machine offering mind-blowing levels of performance and extremely accurate handling and driving dynamics around the track. The impressive amount of engineering and the truly astonishing care put into the weight reduction of the Senna is mind-blowing. And these things have resulted in superior results in a matter of performance. The interior of the Senna is not the most comfortable and practicality is not given a preference by McLaren. The infotainment unit is not the best, and there is no standard audio system included. Overall, the Senna is aimed at a luxury car collector or a track-based supercar driver while others could go for more comfortable street-friendly supercars for a much lower price