Video: Inside Mad Mike's insane rotary McLaren P1 MADMAC

04th October 2024

Adam Wilkins

Mad Mike Whiddett has been coming to Goodwood for a decade now, and seemingly every year he ups the ante in terms of the machinery he brings and the display he puts on. Drifting has become an established ingredient of the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard recipe, and it’s clear to see why it has become so popular.

MADMAC is Mad Mike's wildest drift car yet, and almost certainly the most extreme McLaren in existence. It takes the chassis from a 650S GT3 car and adds the bodywork from a P1, albeit pumped up and exaggerated to suit its tyre-smoking, on-the-lockstops attitude. You’ve never seen another P1 with the exhaust poking out through the engine cover...

As well as some indulgent onboard footage, this video contains an interview with Mad Mike in which he explains why he chose the McLaren as his weapon of choice for the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the decision behind dropping the V8 engine in favour of a rotary and how it was built in just 100 days with Lanzante.

He also talks about how nervous he was about damaging the Duke of Richmond’s grass on his first visit to Goodwood, and how the show he has put on has evolved througout the last ten years. It’s the hardest but most enjoyable event he does. “It’s the primary event where I get to express my style and personality, not just the cars but with the driving,” he says.

Long may that continue.