Henry Catchpole spends time in the McLaren 750S. First on track at Estoril in a coupe, and then on the Portuguese roads nearby in a spider. The question is, what’s actually new? You’ll note the 750S looks remarkably similar to the old 720S. What’s more, as the name suggests, it only has 30 more horsepower. But to dismiss this car too quickly would be a big mistake.
For a start, regardless of any familiarity, this is a spectacular looking supercar with features that remain utterly distinctive, such as the eye socket headlights and double skin doors. Then there is the fact that it has shorter gearing, which means the uplift in acceleration is much greater than the power hike would suggest. The 0–62mph time is now identical to that of the 765LT, and although the top speed has dropped 6mph, to 206mph, the in-gear acceleration is ten per cent quicker.
With 740bhp and 590lb ft of torque helping along a car that has a dry weight of just 1277kg (193kg lighter than a Ferrari 296 GTB), it’s little surprise that driving the 750S flat out feels like piloting a low-flying jet. Add in improved steering feel, a driving position that was already perfect, incredible visibility, and niceties like Apple CarPlay and a nose lift that you can actually operate without referring to the manual, and you have a car that is pretty hard to fault.
McLaren has even worked on the sound of the M840T twin-turbo V8 in order to make it more appealing, with almighty ignition-cut explosions in the powertrain’s Sport mode. Prices for the 750S coupe start at £243,500 in the UK, while the cost of a spider starts at £267,900.
