Shoppers stunned as McLaren W1 hybrid prototypes turn up at British grocery store

This isn’t exactly your average supermarket parking lot.

Shoppers pulling into a Morrisons grocery store in the UK found something a little more exotic than hatchbacks and shopping trolleys.

Two low-slung machines were spotted, drawing double takes and phones out of pockets.

And when the photos hit Reddit, people couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing.

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Two McLaren W1 hybrid prototypes, one Morrisons car park

The surprise stars were a pair of McLaren W1 hybrid prototypes – one white, one blue – casually parked outside the British grocery store. 

Reddit user Alexplayss shared the photos, admitting they hadn’t liked the car much in early renders but had a change of heart seeing them in person.

“This looks awesome in the real world,” they wrote.

Plenty of commenters agreed, saying the W1 needed natural light to show its shape.

“Ain’t no way dude, that’s insane,” exclaimed one person. 

“It looks amazing in natural light like this,” another agreed.

Others weren’t convinced, with one dismissing it as ‘a 570S with an aftermarket body kit’ and another calling it ‘just a bit boring.’ 

What can’t be debated, though, is this model’s performance. 

Beneath the carbon body sits a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 hybrid pushing 1,258hp.

That’s enough to rocket from 0-62mph in 2.7 seconds, hit 186mph in 12.7, and top out at 217mph. 

[multi] [McLaren W1] prototypes spotted at a Morrisons car park
byu/Alexplayss inspotted

All that tech doesn’t come cheap.

Each W1 is expected to cost almost $2.7 million. 

McLaren is capping production at 399 units. 

Deliveries won’t start until 2026, but even in prototype form, the W1 is already showing just how extreme the final car will be.

McLaren’s Ultimate Series bloodline

The W1 is the newest member of McLaren’s Ultimate Series – the same lineage that produced the P1, Senna, Speedtail, and Elva. 

Each tried to stretch the definition of ‘hypercar’ in its own way. 

The P1 was part of the 2013 Holy Trinity, the Senna leaned into track-obsessed brutality, the Speedtail chased pure speed, and the Elva stripped it all down to the bare minimum.

Now McLaren calls the W1 ‘generation-defining,’ claiming it blends hybrid tech with active aero and shape-shifting suspension in ways no other McLaren has before. 

Whether it joins the P1 in legend status or not, it’s already causing arguments online and raising eyebrows in suburban car parks.

Because while most hypercar hybrid prototypes debut in Monaco or Goodwood, these two chose Morrisons.

Turning a grocery run into a $5.3 million car meet.

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