Usually, each year there are a few cars that I set out to track down and photograph, or at least see for myself. As more and more new sports cars, supercars, and hypercars get released, some inevitably find their way to Calgary’s streets thanks to the massive car community here and enthusiasts who manage to get their hands on these models.

There were reports that a Senna or two would be calling Calgary home this year and I was quite excited as the Senna happened to be at the top of my car spotting wishlist for 2019. Amazingly however, I had the chance to see one much sooner than expected.

You can’t mention the McLaren Senna without bringing up one thing – its looks. It divides opinions perhaps more than any other car. You could say that the Senna wasn’t styled at all – it was designed with one thing in mind and its appearance is merely the end result – but regardless of the reason the result is a car that some love, some hate.

I will be completely honest and say that when it first launched, I did not like it at all. I couldn’t get my head around the styling and while I could respect why it looked the way it did, it wasn’t for me. Notice I’m saying this in the past tense though.

Given some time to process it and earning respect for what it’s capable of, these days I genuinely think the Senna is a beautiful car, although that comes with a big asterisk; it has to be spec’d “correctly”. What I mean is that some Sennas I find gorgeous, others I do not, and it all comes down to their colour scheme and other stylistic choices made by the owners. When done in a way that works though, I think the Senna is amazing.

One such example was this particular Senna housed at Pfaff Reserve here in Calgary. Some teasers of it had been shown online but the location was originally kept a secret until the premises were open to the public. As soon as it was announced that everyone was welcome to come view the Senna, I grabbed my camera and headed over.

As you’ll obviously note in the photos, this example wasn’t painted but instead featured a full exposed carbon fiber finish and it was truly something else. Gold pinstriping throughout highlighted some points of the car (even carrying inside to the seats, wheel, and DNR switch housing) but otherwise it was just carbon, carbon, carbon.

The stats of the Senna have been discussed endlessly online so there’s nothing of value for me to add on that front; rather, today’s post is simply to share some of the photos that I was able to capture of this stunning example of one of McLaren’s latest. Call it beautiful, call it stylistically-challenged; that’s up to you and there’ll always be a divide. I think – especially in this configuration – that the Senna is an amazing thing to behold, and I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to walk around it and take it in for myself.

#1 on the 2019 spotting wishlist, the McLaren Senna: Check!

-Bill