Looking like something either out of a videogame or a movie about videogames, this is MCLExtreme, an amped-up vision of what a fully-electric F1 will look like in 2050, courtesy McLaren.
Sparing literally no detail, and quite literally painting an incredible picture in the process, McLaren’s vision for 2050 has quite a few interesting predictions. A completely electric drivetrain is a given, considering Formula One’s gradual drift towards it. The cars won’t just be electric, they’ll charge wirelessly too. The track will supply power to the cars at strategic intervals as they drive in circles. However, where it gets interesting is that McLaren says that in order to charge effectively, drivers will have to slow down to gather more energy. Drive slow and you charge more, drive fast and you save time. The concept of the pit-stop doesn’t exist in 2050 either. The car’s tires will be crafted from a much more durable and self-repairing material that makes them last longer and eventually repair over time, therefore never needing replacing.
The cars themselves will be able to morph as you drive too. The car will morph to grow wider at corners, allowing them to grip the road better and stay stable, but will grow narrower on longer, straight stretches, giving them the aerodynamics they need. Formula 1 will retain the closed-cockpit design, especially since these cars will come with the capacity to reach top speeds of 500km/h. However, to retain the human element that would get lost by enclosing the driver in a covered cockpit, McLaren’s even designed an emotion-sensing bodysuit that connects the driver to the lighting units in the car’s wheels. As drivers get aggressive and angry, the car wheels will turn red, and when the drivers remain collected and calm, the wheels shine blue. This allows fans to feel emotionally engaged and invested in the F1 experience, retaining the overall addictive, entertainment element of the sport. Sounds like an extremely far-fetched vision of the future, but remember that the world could be an entirely different place 30 years from now!
Designer: McLaren
