Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen drives the McLaren Solus GT at the Goodwood Festival of Speed [Photo Gallery]

Mika Häkkinen returned to the wheel of a single-seat V10-powered McLaren once again at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, with a dramatic appearance on the famous hillclimb.

The Finnish driver and double Formula 1 World Champion with McLaren stormed up the Goodwood Hill in a McLaren Solus GT finished as a beautifully crafted tribute to the McLaren MP4/13 that he drove in 1998 – and starred at the Festival of Speed only last year in 2023.

Häkkinen won the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championships in 1998 and 1999, capturing McLaren’s third and fourth drivers’ titles of the sport’s fabled V10 era. His championship charge in 1998 was instrumental in also delivering McLaren’s 8th World Constructors’ Championship. He and teammate David Coulthard won nine races that season, on the way to title glory for the team.

Bringing Häkkinen’s heroic McLaren legacy into the 21^st century, the McLaren Solus GT driven by the Formula 1 legend at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed is just one of 25 customer cars produced. Its owner, a self-confessed McLaren Formula 1 and Mika Häkkinen fanatic, tasked McLaren Special Operations (MSO) with hand-painting his Solus GT as a stunning tribute to the famous Finn’s MP4/13 racer.

Displaying hallmark MSO craftsmanship, the livery comprises expertly blended colours that are faithful to the MP4/13 chassis as it is today, rather than the hues of the Formula 1 car in 1998. In a further display of authenticity, the livery was applied by a member of the MSO paint team who painted the MP4/13 cars in period, for the 1998 season.

“Driving the Solus GT is an experience that reminds me of my time racing with McLaren. A true single-seater with incredible V10 power and sound – just incredible!” – Mika Häkkinen, two-time Formula 1 World Champion with McLaren.

The Solus GT, revealed in August 2022, sees McLaren make real its expression of the ultimate single seat track-only hypercar from the virtual world. Based on the McLaren Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo concept car envisaged for the Gran Turismo SPORT video game, only 25 customer cars will be made, with deliveries underway.

The Solus GT weighs less than 1,000kg and is powered by a naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 engine that can rev to in excess of 10,000rpm and develops 840PS. The incredible aerodynamics of the optimised bodywork and floor, honed by both wind tunnel research and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) are capable of generating over 1,200kg of downforce. The amalgamation of ultra-lightweight engineering, power, and incredible aerodynamic optimisation means that the Solus GT is capable of the fastest lap times of any McLaren outside of single-seater racing and delivers a driving experience close to the engagement and sensation of driving a Formula 1 car.

The Solus GT returned to the Hill this year with Mika Häkkinen at the wheel just 12 months after the Finn drove an MP4/13 at the 2023 event – and McLaren factory driver Marvin Kirchhöfer claimed victory in a Solus GT in Sunday’s Timed Shootout Final, with a time of 45.342 seconds. That sensational performance meant that McLaren had the quickest car at Goodwood for the second time in three years, after the 720S GT3X took honours in 2021.