The new McLaren 750S is a 720S turned up a notch

By topgear, 26 April 2023

The new McLaren 750S is a 720S turned up a notch

Although McLaren says ‘meticulous analysis’ was done to improve the 720S, a sense of impishness has entered the previously rather uptight Woking lexicon.

While the numbers never lie and the 750S’s 588hp-per-tonne power-to-weight ratio is class-leading, the new car is definitely more… punk rock.

Sharper, sonically enhanced, and more interactive, think of it as more accessible and less intimidating than the knife-edge 765LT.

The 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 now makes 750hp and 800 torques, and it rockets to 100km/h in 2.8 seconds and 200km/h in 7.2.

Sure, the 720 was hardly deficient in that department, but a whole load of fine-tuning has gone on to liberate a bit more soul.

We know what you’re thinking, though. Did McLaren’s design team nip down the pub while their colleagues in engineering did all the heavy lifting? The 750S is different, honest.

McLaren says 30 per cent of its components are new or changed, although its body design will inevitably underwhelm the noisier parts of the internet. Its nose is lower and smoother, there’s a longer front splitter, the intakes that house the headlights are narrower (and still called ‘eye sockets’, more’s the pity), and there are new sill air intakes and rear wheelarch vents.

But the biggest visual alterations are at the back: an undulating mesh cover spans a reprofiled rear deck and funnels air towards a longer rear wing. That’s positioned above a new central-exit exhaust tuned for greater efficiency and more audible sonic kicks.

The wing’s surface area is 20 per cent greater than the one on the 720S, but it weighs 1.6kg less because it’s made of carbonfibre. It deploys in three ways: push the ‘aero’ button and you get more downforce in corners depending on how fast you’re going, there’s a DRS function for low drag high speed runs, and high speed braking sees the wing pop up in less than half a second for maximum retardation.

McLaren’s clever Proactive Chassis Control linked-hydraulic suspension has also been reworked. The springs are three per cent softer at the front and four per cent stiffer at the rear, which should make the car more playful without compromising the existing car’s phenomenal ride quality and roll control.

The 750S’s front track is 6mm wider and the electro-hydraulic steering – a McLaren signature in a world of fully electric systems – has a faster ratio and new power assistance pump. The turn-in and front end grip on this thing should be mighty.

There’s also a Variable Drift Control, the option of 390mm carbon ceramic brakes and a vehicle lift system that cuts the 720S’s time from 10 seconds to four. Oh, and there's a drop-top Spider version available from the off...

The interior is improved too: as on the Artura, the Powertrain and Handling mode buttons live on the side of the main instrument binnacle. Much easier to find and use.

A new device called MCL, or McLaren Control Launcher, allows the driver to store their preferred combination of aero, handling, powertrain and transmission settings.

There’s also a new central information touchscreen which sits in an aluminium surround and has improved graphics. Carbonfibre-shelled racing seats are standard, and combined weigh 17.5kg less than the ones in the 720S.

Quality? "This is a car we know how to build," McLaren says. The 750S comes with a three-year unlimited mileage warranty. Boring, but important. Very.

STORY Jason Barlow

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