Say Hello To McLaren's New 4.0-litre Twin-Turbo V8

As the reveal of McLaren’s new ‘P14’ supercar (you know, the car we’ve already seen thanks to a leak) draws closer, Woking has given us some tantalising details about its V8 heart.

It’s a new 4.0-litre, twin-turbo unit, dubbed M840T. While McLaren hasn’t given a power figure, the firm does mention that it’ll haul the 650S replacement from 0-124mph in 7.8 seconds. That’s not just 0.6sec quicker than the outgoing car - it’s also 0.1sec quicker than the 675LT. Oh, and it’ll do a standing quarter-mile in 10.3 seconds. Crikey.

The M840T also gets a pair of “ultra-low inertia” twin-scroll turbochargers to kill lag and speed up throttle response, and the top of the unit will be illuminated when the car is unlocked. It should sound better than the old 3.8 too, with McLaren telling us to expect a “soulful, clean and crisp exhaust note”. In other words, it’ll probably be worth dropping the windows down when you go through a tunnel.

The car will be revealed in full at the Geneva Motor Show on 7 March.