Look carefully. It’s a new McLaren. Well, 30 percent of it is new, say the folks from Woking, and that’s enough, apparently, to warrant adding a new model name to the McLaren lexicon. Meet the McLaren 750S, which replaces the 720S, a supercar we’ve admired for its light footwork and soaring speed since its launch in 2017.
The 750S builds on those core strengths of the 720S with an overall weight reduction of 66 pounds and a 30 horsepower increase in power from the mid-mounted twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8. It is, says McLaren, the lightest and most powerful series production car the company has ever built.
But that’s not all. McLaren dynamics engineers have tweaked the chassis, the aerodynamics, and the electronic control systems to make this big Mac even more fun to drive than its predecessor, yet less intimidating than some of McLaren’s track focused cars at the limit. “We wanted to expand the bandwidth,” says 750S chief engineer Sandy Holford, who’s worked on and driven every McLaren supercar of the past 14 years. “We wanted to make it more fun, and more accessible than the 765LT.”
Work started on the 750S more than a year ago. The benchmark in terms of its performance and handling development was Ferrari’s 296GTB, a car we’ve rated as one of the finest mid-engine coupes ever from Maranello, and a car that was developed while new McLaren Automotive CEO Michael Leiters was still chief technology officer at the Italian company. It was an appropriate choice: When Leiters arrived to take up the top job at Woking in July 2022, he revealed the 720S had been a Ferrari benchmark. “Michael has had a fair hand in the development of this car,” says one McLaren insider. “He pushed us on dynamic enhancement and the fun factor.”
The 750S may be evolutionary rather than revolutionary, but the list of changes over the 720S is extensive. Underpinning the chassis upgrades is the latest generation of McLaren’s innovative Proactive Chassis Control suspension, dubbed PCC III. It combines passive coil springs with semi-active shocks and a hydraulic roll control system to deliver a supple ride yet precise control in corners.
Among the key chassis changes are a 0.24 inch increase in the front track, along with revised front suspension geometry. The front spring rates are 3 percent softer than in the 720S, while the rear spring rates are 4 percent stiffer, and a redesign has reduced the overall weight of the coil springs and shocks by 4.4 pounds. The power steering remains hydraulically assisted; “We believe it’s the best for feel and driver feedback,” insists 750S product manager Shane Harman—but the ratio has been quickened.
A new brake booster improves feel and response, and a track brake package—essentially the same setup fitted to the McLaren Senna, with 15.4 inch carbon ceramic rotors than take seven months to make but are 60 percent stronger and have four times the thermal conductivity of regular carbon ceramic units—will be available as an option. Track rats will also be able to order Pirelli PZero Corsa and Trofeo R tires in place of the standard PZeros. The tires are mounted on new 10-spoke forged alloy rims, 19 inch at the front and 20 inch at the rear, that are the lightest standard wheels ever fitted to a mainstream McLaren, 30 pounds lighter than the 720S units.
The braking performance is further enhanced by a new active rear wing that has a 20 percent greater surface area than the wing on the 720S, and automatically flips up under brakes. The wing can also be activated to deliver speed-dependent downforce, and there’s a DRS mode that automatically reduces drag when the 750S is accelerating in a straight line, all the way up to its maximum speed of 206 mph. The fundamental aerodynamic concept of the 750S is unchanged from that of the 720S, but the new rear wing and a new front splitter help deliver 5 percent more downforce at speed.
Speaking of which, the M840T twin-turbo V-8 now pumps out 740 hp at 7500 rpm and 590 lb-ft of torque at 5500 rpm, increases of 30 hp and 22 lb-ft over its 720S specification. The extra grunt has come courtesy of extra boost pressure and changes to the engine calibration, along with the adoption of the lightweight pistons from the 765LT. But you’ll also need to put 99 RON in the gas tank of the 750S to make it happen.
The engine drives through the same seven-speed dual-clutch transmission as in the 720S, but the final drive is 15 percent shorter, the crown wheel made from a nickel chromoly alloy used in Formula 1. The spent hydrocarbons exit via a new central-exit stainless steel exhaust system that’s almost five pounds lighter than the old 720S system and has been tuned to amplify the 4th and 8th order acoustics from the flat-plane crank V-8 to deliver a more thrilling sound at high revs.
McLaren says the 750S weighs just 3068 pounds with all fluids and the gas tank 90 percent full, giving it a segment leading weight-to-power ratio of 4.14 pounds per horsepower, a 7 percent improvement over the 720S and within 9 percent of Gordon Murray’s epochal McLaren F1.
More power and torque, less weight, and a shorter final drive adds up to more performance. McLaren claims the 750S will hit 60 mph in 2.7 seconds, with the speedo ticking past 124 mph in 7.2 seconds, and 186 mph in 19.8 seconds. The quarter mile is done in 10.1 seconds. Those numbers might be on the conservative side, however: The 720S we tested in early 2018 nailed 60 mph in 2.5 seconds and ran the quarter mile in 10.1 second at 141.5 mph.
The good news is that ordering the Spider version of the 750S makes little difference to the performance. The Spider’s retractable hardtop, which can be raised or lowered in 11 seconds at speeds up to 30 mph, adds just 108 pounds to the car’s overall mass. The Spider’s 0-60 mph acceleration time is thus identical to that of the coupé and it’s just a tenth of a second slower to 124 mph and six tenths slower to 186 mph. Its 206 mph top speed is the same.
While you might, unless you’re a McLaren aficionado, be hard-pressed to spot the differences between the 750S and the 720S on the outside (new front and rear bumpers, that new rear wing, the high-mounted central exhaust, and the larger vents in the rocker panels are the main ones), the new model announces itself the moment you open the double-skinned dihedral doors.
There, mounted on the reach-and-rake adjustable steering column, is the configurable digital instrument panel and binnacle from the McLaren Artura. That means the handling and powertrain mode selection is now by way of rocker switches a finger-tip’s stretch away from the steering wheel on either side of the instrument binnacle. Standard seats are the carbon fiber-shelled racing seats that are almost 39 pounds lighter than the sports seats that were standard on the 720S.
Detail improvements include a new 8 inch central HMI screen with richer and more detailed graphics, including crisper pictures from the rear view and surround view camera systems. Apple Car Play is now standard, and an upgraded Bowers & Wilkins audio system is available as an option. And although the long front splitter has made no different to the approach angles, pressing the vehicle lift button lifts the front of the 750S in just four seconds, six seconds quicker than the system in the 720S.
Americans have a soft spot for McLaren, it seems. The U.S. has been the single largest market in the world for the 720S, accounting for 30 percent of the car’s worldwide sales. To capitalize on its successor’s popularity, McLaren has already been actively marketing the 750S to its American customers and insiders say it is now holding pre-orders for cars with production slots well into 2024. Starting MSRP for the Coupe is $324,000, and the Spider is $345,000, not including destination.
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