The McLaren Senna starts at around one million dollars.  But nearly every Senna sold will visit the MSO branch for further customizing, ultimately pushing every MSO Senna well beyond a million dollar price tag and ensuring each car is a one off design!  So how do you detail a brand new million dollar one off hyper car that carry’s the name of a racing legend? We will tell you exactly how Status Detail will handle such a prestigious detail, including cost!

No Compromise…

“You commit yourself to such a level where there is no compromise. You give everything you have; everything, absolutely everything.” Ayrton Senna.

This McLaren was built with Ayrton’s words in mind. This car was built without compromise and with full commitment from McLaren to produce a track monster. It may look very different from what we usually see from a hyper car but this is what full commitment to aerodynamics looks like. I quite like this quote as it depicts this car so well but it also depicts what Status Detail is. We offer many services and work in many budgets. At the heart of Status is a company that creates bespoke detail packages for cars that are works of art and need the best shine and protection without compromise. This will be a breakdown of a no-compromise Bespoke Status detail on a McLaren Senna!

Fast Facts

• Body design, rear wing and active aero front and rear are key to generating 800kg of downforce at 250km/h (155mph)
• Acceleration from 0-200kmh (124mph) in 6.8 seconds; 0-100km/h (62mph) in 2.8 seconds; maximum speed of 340km/h (211mph)
• Carbon fibre Monocage III chassis and carbon fibre body panels integral to the McLaren Senna being the lightest road car McLaren has built since the iconic F1 at 1,198kg*, giving a power-to-weight ratio of 668PS (659bhp) per tonne
• Production limited to 500 units, all hand-assembled at the McLaren Production Centre in Woking, Surrey, England in a 300-hour process – and all already allocated
• 800PS (789bhp) and 800Nm (590b ft) from its 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 – McLaren’ s most powerful-ever internal combustion engine in a road car
•  hand-assembled in a 300-hour process at the McLaren Production Centre in Woking, Surrey, England.
• The wing weighs just 4.87kg, yet can support more than 100 times its own weight in down force

McLaren Special Operations meets Bespoke Status Detail

The Detail consist of several different polishers from Flex and Rupes using 7 inch pads all the way down to one inch pads. We will jump in deeper to polishing in a moment before I get carried away.  Before the polish can happen, a full decontamination takes place. We can only polish when the paint is properly prepared. The last third of detailing would consist of ceramic coatings. Many people think ceramic coatings only work on paint. More on that in a moment as well. Spoiler, it’s going on everything!

Step 1 Washing a Hypercar

Washing a car seems straight forward enough: spray water on it, add some soap and clean all the surfaces right? The Senna has many spots that we would not want to blast water into like the massive intakes for example or the exhaust that is kind of upside down and would collect water like a two liter bottle. In nearly every case I would not recommend a waterless wash method, but it could be useful in a situation like this. The car would most likely not be very dirty and we could pair this step with a claybar to take care of decontamination. When done correctly, any potential light scratches or marring would be removed in the polish step and prevent potential water damage.

My preferred method would be to pressure wash the car while being extremely careful with delicate areas. This will blow off most of the dirt on a new car’s paint that, in this case, probably would have been dropped off in covered car carrier. Running water also allows us to decontaminate with a product like CarPro Iron X or Gyeon Iron. This step paired with a claybar will leave the paint fully prepped for polish. The wash stage would be a deep cleaning with many small detail brushes and plush high GSM microfiber towels. A light vacuum and once over of the interior would take place during this step as well.

Ultimately a wash of a car like this would be a hybrid of a waterless wash in some areas and a normal wash with a pressure washer in other areas. Cleaning the wheels would be very easy as the Senna has carbon brakes. Check out our post on how to clean carbon ceramic brakes.

Step 2 Polishing

I have studied and researched polishing paint for so many hours that I have lost track. Status Detail does everything without comprise and if we can extract even 1% more gloss or shine from paint, we will. Polishing is our passion and during the polishing process is when it changes from detailing to an art form, then to a labor of love. The Senna presents many challenges for any detailer that wishes to polish its incredible lines. It has many areas that would be very hard to get a polisher in and when we can fit the polisher in, it will require several different pad sizes to complete an area as small as the palm of your hand. The smaller the pad size the quicker the pad will load up with residue and become non-effective or even begin to scratch the paint with it’s rougher residue-filled surface. The Senna would require dozens and dozens of pads and hundreds of residue blow outs to complete. We would use around $2,000 in polishers that are hand made for automotive polishing. Flex and Rupes make the best polishers in the business and would be up to tackle anything on a project like this. The Senna would most likely see Rupes polishes and pads but all paint is different so many test spots would be needed to see what the paint responded to best.

Some Senna’s will be finished in all carbon fiber body panels. Carbon fiber can be polished just like any normal painted car. Paint in most modern cases is two stage. There is a color then a clearcoat. When we say we will polish the paint we are really polishing the clear coat! The senna has a carbon fiber body but it is all clear coated meaning it can be polished.

Step 2.1 Jeweling

If your detailer offers jeweling then you probably have a pretty awesome detailer. Jeweling is rarely talked about or used mostly because many people have a budget and don’t find the value. The polishing step starts from least aggressive methods and removes all the scratches and light marring in new car paint. Jeweling will hardly remove any clear coat but it will perfect the paint. It is the hidden secret step to adding insane gloss and luster to painted surfaces. It is a time consuming process and uses a very soft pad that when done, will make the Senna the cleanest, glossiest Mclaren on earth, period. The Status jeweling process can take up to two days on a vehicle like this and would include interior carbon and clear coated parts as well.

Step 3 Ceramic Coatings

Ceramic coatings have advanced a lot in the past few years. They now offer gloss that will rival any high end pure carnauba wax! The real tech is in the chemical bonding that happens on a nano level! Once the coating has cured and chemically bonded it is extremely strong and has a 9H hardness. This prevents scratches and boosts chemical resistances. The water beading is unreal and will actually promote a self cleaning affect that will keep the car cleaner longer. We then add a second layer to create a dual layer coating. This boosts hydrophobic properties even further. The water beading is so extreme it creates a 120 degree contact angle with the paint! The water beads literally look like they are floating on top of the paint. Our Gtechniq coatings last for 7 years! An exposed carbon Senna body is only protected by clear coat. Once the clear coat is worn away, the carbon panels are exposed and would need a repaint. Needless to say, that is exponentially more expensive than ceramic coating. The ceramic will add a measurable amount of protection that can be added again in years to come to always keep the base clear coat safe and untouched.

We also ceramic coat the glass. This helps water fly off and will increase visibility. The last thing you need in your hypercar is poor visibility. The wheels get a ceramic coat as well. Carbon ceramic brakes don’t create dust like traditional brakes. When they are coated they can simply by cleaned by a good pressure washing and drying.

Interior carbon is ceramic coated as well. This Senna has a mix of matte carbon fiber and gloss carbon fiber. Gyeon makes a specific coating for Matte finishes and is the perfect product for this Senna. This also adds 9H scratch resistance and will help protect the interior. This Senna also has an all alcantara interior. It will however get dirty fast and potentially get a bit wet from sweat during track sessions. Gyeon makes leather coatings and also fabric coatings. This Senna will need the fabric coating, and no it won’t change the alcantara look and feel. If we pour a cup of water on coated alcantara it would just bead up and fall off.

Every inch of the Senna inside and out would get some form of ceramic coat and all of them have years of protection to protect this iconic car!

McLaren Senna Status Bespoke Detail Cost

Our Bespoke Status Detail Starts at $3,000. The McLaren Senna has such amazing aerodynamics that have created this incredible shape of a car. The added time to polish everything correctly and the amount of carbon fiber on the inside alone is like coating an entire second car. This is a unique car that fits no price structure and this is why we say $3,000 is a starting price. A detail of this magnitude would very easily reach the $4,000 mark. If the owner opted for clear bra application then ceramic, We would advise Suntek or Xpel clear bra. A full proper clear bra on a car like this would add several thousand dollars more to the cost. A full Bespoke Status Detail paired with top tier clear bra with all edges tucked away would easily surpass $10,000.

Ayrton Senna was the best F1 racing driver that ever lived. His name will forever live on with this epic machine. When he passed away, his funeral was like nothing you have ever seen. People lined the streets for miles as if he were the president of a country that passed away. This hypsercar will mean a lot to all those people. It will also mean a lot to the 500 owners that pre purchased the car before it was even built. If you have one, find a detailer with a passion for detailing and who knows the story of Aryton Senna. If you have purchased a Senna and need help with your new car detail or detail maintenance questions, please email us as we are happy to help!

The History Behind the McLaren Senna