From Washed-Up to World Record: How a Hurricane-Damaged McLaren P1 Is Being Reborn as a 1,400-HP Speed Demon
It’s a scene that still haunts car enthusiasts: In the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Ian in 2022, a multi-million-dollar McLaren P1 was seen floating helplessly away from its Florida garage, slammed against trees, fences, and finally coming to rest—of all places—on top of a toilet, cloaked in mud and storm debris. For most people, this would be the end of the line for a hypercar. But this wasn’t the end. It was the beginning.
In March 2023, YouTuber and car builder Freddy “Tavarish” Hernandez posted a video that sent shockwaves through the automotive world. Standing in a Florida warehouse—the same one featured in the Copart insurance auction listing—Tavarish introduced his latest project: the flood-damaged P1, purchased for over half a million dollars.
Why spend that kind of money on what looked like a waterlogged paperweight? Because to Tavarish, this wasn’t a wreck—it was potential. His vision wasn’t just to bring the P1 back to life. He wanted to transform it into something greater: the “P1 Evo,” a reborn monster designed to become the fastest McLaren on the planet.
And he wasn’t doing it alone. Enter Frank Stephenson—the original designer of the McLaren P1—who joined the project to reshape the car he helped create. The goal? Beat the 250 mph top speed set by the McLaren Speedtail and push past 260 mph.
The plan is ambitious, to say the least. The hybrid battery and electric drivetrain have been ripped out, shedding about 300 pounds. In their place? A 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 equipped with parts borrowed from the McLaren Senna—including a carbon fiber intake manifold—plus forged rods, pistons, and an upgraded valvetrain. The engine now revs to a screaming 9,500 rpm. And yes, it’s designed to crank out more than 1,400 horsepower on race fuel—more than double what the original P1 engine made by itself.
While the dual-clutch seven-speed transmission remains, it’s getting a tougher clutch to handle the extra grunt. This build is less a restoration and more a resurrection—with attitude.
Aesthetically, the “Evo” is undergoing a transformation, too. Gone is the elegant factory bodywork; in its place will be exposed carbon fiber, aggressive aero, and a rear wing that can rise over a foot, complete with DRS and airbrake functions. Renderings show several possible design directions, with LMP-style fins, wide hood scoops, and turbine-style wheels with carbon aero discs. According to Tavarish, the final design will embrace a “long tail” silhouette.
And where will this beast be unleashed? None other than NASA’s three-mile landing strip at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Mark your calendar: November 4, 2025. Behind the wheel will be none other than Ben Collins—best known as The Stig from Top Gear.
Watching Tavarish’s videos, you get a real sense of the mess he started with. When he opened the front trunk—still sealed shut since Hurricane Ian—it was full of standing seawater, tow straps, and the factory emergency kit, all floating in a salty swamp of decay. The smell was, reportedly, overwhelming. And yet, somehow, that tow hook was salvageable. A small win in a car that was nothing but problems.
The suspension was locked, the wheels wouldn’t roll, one tire was gashed open and the opposite rim had a hole punched through it. The electrical system was dead, and the entire car reeked of stormwater rot. Loading it onto a trailer looked like dragging a whale onto a beach.
But for anyone who’s ever taken on a hopeless project car, the appeal isn’t just in the fix—it’s in the fight. Tavarish isn’t just rebuilding the P1. He’s rewriting its legacy. Instead of becoming another tragic YouTube clip of hurricane carnage, this car might just go down in history.
Oh, and the Rolls-Royce Phantom that once shared a garage with the P1? That one didn’t float away—but judging by the fork-lift holes in its roof and the dents all over its waterlogged body, maybe it should’ve.
The P1 Evo, though? It floated out of a flood and into legend.