World’s first McLaren W1 spotted casually parked outside a random grocery store near the factory

Something seriously special, the world’s first McLaren W1 has been spotted in one of the most ordinary places imaginable, a random grocery store.

The rare McLaren supercar was seen parked outside a retail park in the UK.

The sighting was shared on Facebook by Koray Darwiner, who came across the car during what looks like a rather unexpected appearance.

And given where it was parked, you might have done a double take if you were heading out to buy your fruit and veg.

The McLaren W1 is no ordinary supermarket runabout

The Brooklands retail park in Surrey might be a familiar stop for locals picking up their weekly groceries, but a McLaren W1 hypercar is certainly not something you see parked outside every day, but thanks to a Facebook post, we saw just that happen.

The W1 hypercar is part of McLaren’s exclusive ‘1’ car lineage, which includes the legendary McLaren F1 and its hybrid successor, the P1.

Unveiled in October 2024, the W1 represents the latest chapter in that history, bringing together Formula 1-inspired engineering and some seriously impressive performance figures.

With McLaren’s factory in Woking, Surrey, the area is no stranger to spectacular supercars.

Still, stumbling across one of the brand’s newest flagship cars while visiting Tesco or M&S is a rather different experience from seeing it under the spotlights at a motor show.

And with only 399 examples planned, spotting one in the wild is a pretty special moment.

It packs more than 1,200 horsepower

The W1 might look perfectly capable of sitting quietly in a supermarket parking lot, but underneath its sculpted bodywork is a seriously powerful hybrid setup.

It pairs a new 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine with an electric motor to produce a combined 1,258hp.

Power goes to the rear wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, giving the W1 a claimed 0–62mph time of just 2.7 seconds and a top speed of 217mph.

McLaren has also fitted the car with an advanced active aerodynamic system, including a rear section that extends in Race Mode to help generate downforce.

The result is a machine designed to feel at home on the road and the track, even if its latest reported appearance was considerably less dramatic.

The W1’s performance is all the more impressive given that it follows the P1, a car that helped establish McLaren’s modern hybrid hypercar credentials.

All 399 examples were spoken for

There is another reason the W1 is such a remarkable spot: getting your hands on one is not as simple as walking into a dealership.

McLaren limited production to just 399 cars, with all build slots reported as sold following the model’s unveiling.

The car had an announced price of around £2 million before buyers began adding their own bespoke specifications.

That makes the sighting near Byfleet even more unusual, because while the grocery shop is an ordinary stop for people going about their day, the W1 belongs to a very small club of cars that few people will ever see up close.

For anyone hoping to catch a glimpse of one, the Surrey area around McLaren’s home is perhaps not the worst place to keep an eye out. But even there, a hypercar of this calibre appearing between the supermarket parking bays is enough to make a routine grocery trip considerably more exciting.