Everything in the Senna has a purpose.&nbsp; Every ounce or gram of weight has a reason for being included.&nbsp; While the Senna shares the same dashboard and control layout logic with all the other 21st century McLarens, about a third of the controls sit in different locations, starting with the door releases, window controls, and starter button which are mounted above the rear-view mirror.&nbsp; Given the Sennas track first focus, the location of the controls makes sense.&nbsp; We had both normal road seat belts as well as the six-point track harnesses mounted and the latter tuck away conveniently behind the seats when not needed.&nbsp; Luggage space was extremely limited and two very small duffle bags fit on the “shelf” behind the seats.&nbsp; The lack of luggage space was the Senna’s biggest limitation in terms of different possible use cases.

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End of Term: McLaren Senna

I took delivery of our McLaren Senna in June 2019, shortly before we moved from Texas to Massachusetts.&nbsp; It was a short two years from the original deposit to delivery.&nbsp; When we put down the deposit, the “Use Case” (see: <a href="https://ssoreport.com/the-use-case-rule-of-supercar-collecting" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Use Case Rule</a>) was “McLaren Ultimate Series” hypercar, basically it was to fill the void in the garage left from the departed P1.&nbsp; As “Use Cases” go, it was rather thin, but it did hold through the summer of 2024 when it finally collapsed.&nbsp; As is the cycle, first the “Use Case Rule” giveth and then it taketh away.&nbsp;The Concept &amp; SpecThe Senna was designed to do one thing better than any other road car of its era and that was going around a track fast.&nbsp;&nbsp; The result of the design brief was a car that was very much function over form.&nbsp; The net result was one of the more challenging cars we have ever spec’ed.&nbsp;&nbsp; Beautiful isn’t the first word that comes to mind when seeing the Senna’s lines, but it does have a very purposeful aura to it. &nbsp;&nbsp;After going through a number of options, we settled on Kyanos Blue for the body as we felt it suited the car well coupled with the limited use of orange on the brake caliper, door struts, and front splitter works well. &nbsp;The interior was black with orange pin holes on the seats and the orgy of carbon fiber everywhere.&nbsp; The seats in the Senna are easily the most comfortable carbon fiber racing buckets I have ever sat in.&nbsp; Given the thin pads, high tight seat sides, and hard carbon fiber shell, the level of comfort defies logic.&nbsp; We are really pleased with the way the spec turned out.&nbsp;Everything in the Senna has a purpose.&nbsp; Every ounce or gram of weight has a reason for being included.&nbsp; While the Senna shares the same dashboard and control layout logic with all the other 21st century McLarens, about a third of the controls sit in different locations, starting with the door releases, window controls, and starter button which are mounted above the rear-view mirror.&nbsp; Given the Sennas track first focus, the location of the controls makes sense.&nbsp; We had both normal road seat belts as well as the six-point track harnesses mounted and the latter tuck away conveniently behind the seats when not needed.&nbsp; Luggage space was extremely limited and two very small duffle bags fit on the “shelf” behind the seats.&nbsp; The lack of luggage space was the Senna’s biggest limitation in terms of different possible use cases.

The ExperienceIf I had to sum up the essence of the Senna it is focus.&nbsp; Simply put, the Senna’s capabilities are immense.&nbsp; Driving a Senna is intense, there is nothing relaxing about it.&nbsp; The Senna piles on speed unlike any other car we have owned with the possible exception of the McLaren P1.&nbsp; While you felt like the P1 was rearranging your brain cells at full throttle, the Senna just throws the speedometer north almost violently.&nbsp; If you are not right on top of it, that needle goes a lot further to the right than you intend.&nbsp; Turbo lag is nearly imperceivably.&nbsp; When you first begin to move forward, there is this very brief moment when acceleration feels normal and then the Senna squats slightly and just hurls forward madly at the horizon.&nbsp; It’s a wondrous sound hearing the turbos spin up behind your head.&nbsp; The minimal sound deadening means that you get to hear much of what’s happening behind you which just serves to reinforce the intended purpose of the machine you are piloting.&nbsp; The gearbox, even in comfort mode, is quick and the cogs change almost instantly when you pull the paddles.&nbsp; Do this when pushing a bit and you get a nice bang out the back with every tug.&nbsp; Fortunately, the brakes are as good as the power delivery.&nbsp; What the Senna does not do is shrink around you at speed.&nbsp; The long nose, fairly low seating position, and massive rear wing are probably the key contributors to this.&nbsp;The ride is fairly hard and setting the traction control to anything but comfort on normal roads will rattle you brains pretty thoroughly.&nbsp; Sound damping is also minimal so what is going on right behind your head is never a mystery.&nbsp; While an hour or two spent in the Senna is fine, it’s not a car I would want to spend multiple days in.&nbsp; In fact, Mrs. SSO would tolerate the Senna for about an hour per stint.&nbsp; While seats in the Senna are shockingly comfortable, getting in and out of the seats gracefully is a challenge.&nbsp; If driving the Senna brings out your inner child, exiting the Senna brings out the harsh reality of aging.

Fondest MemoryWe took the Senna out to the Sun Valley Tour de Force in Idaho last July (see: <a href="https://ssoreport.com/svtdf-2024" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Tour de Force</a>). The highlight of the event for us was the drive up RT 75 to Sunbeam for lunch hosted by the McLaren North America (NA) Team.&nbsp; The section of RT 75 we drove runs alongside the Salmon River as it descends from the Sawtooth Mountains. Spectacular doesn’t even begin to describe it as you wind your way through the gorge.&nbsp; The Senna was made for these sorts of drives.&nbsp; The huge amounts of grip alongside zero body roll provide enormous confidence going into each of the never ending corners.&nbsp; I found that I rarely needed to give the brakes more than a short quick jab going into a corner as the engine braking via a couple of quick downshifts did the rest.&nbsp; Getting back on the power as soon as the corner opened up again pulled the Senna through nicely, then it was a couple of quick upshifts before heading back down the gearbox again.&nbsp; I have to admit, I did do a bit more shifting than needed but I was thoroughly enjoying the echo off the rockface as we banged through the gearbox.After a very enjoyable lunch at the Sunbeam Café, we were joined by another “pair” of Sennas, Bruno Senna driving a McLaren Senna.&nbsp; This was the first time I had met Bruno and he couldn’t have been nicer nor more down to earth.&nbsp; After a briefing on the plans for the drive back, we headed out with Bruno in the lead.&nbsp; The thought of having to follow a former F1 driver along a very tight windy road was stressful to say the least.&nbsp; Fortunately, Bruno was a true gentleman and while he set a brisk pace, he did keep us in his rear view mirror.&nbsp; I am sure he could have left us for dust at any time had he wanted to.&nbsp; Driving a Senna while following another Senna driven by a Senna is definitely my fondest memory coming out of our Senna ownership.

The EndI had actually been debating selling the Senna for some time.&nbsp; We have a household rule that cars that don’t get used need to find new homes and if I am honest, the Senna hadn’t gotten a lot of use in the last several years that we owned it.&nbsp; While the Senna was a spectacular car to drive, the minimal sound deadening and lack of luggage space severely limited its useability.&nbsp; This became very apparent when we were discussing taking the Senna out to the Tour de Force last July.&nbsp; When we did the event with the McLaren 765LT Spider in 2023, we shipped the car to Denver and then enjoyed a couple of days road trip to Sun Valley (see: <a href="https://ssoreport.com/svtdf-part1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">765LT Spider Road Trip</a>).&nbsp; This time around we shipped the Senna directly to Sun Valley as the lack of luggage space made doing a road trip impossible.&nbsp; To top it off, I’m not sure my marriage would have survived several long days in the Senna. &nbsp;Coming out of all of this, the use case discussion was revisited and the decision made to part company.&nbsp;SummaryThe McLaren Senna is a phenomenal piece of engineering.&nbsp; I feel quite fortunate that I had the opportunity to own the car and was able to experience it.&nbsp; Driving the Senna was always a highly engaging and memorable event.&nbsp;&nbsp;P.S. The Senna’s maintenance history &amp; costs are posted: <a href="https://ssoreport.com/mclaren-maintenance-2024" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">McLarens Maintenance Report</a>