Creating a mid-cycle replacement for the best-selling McLaren to date is a dilemma, as there really isn’t a whole lot wrong with the “old” 720S. And yet Gautam Sharma shares his thoughts on why the 750S is that much better after a jaunt at Portugal’s Circuito do Estoril…
McLaren’s 720S is a searingly fast, scalpel-sharp hypercar that triggers all the senses, so it’s no surprise it’s scooped up a hatful of awards and accolades since its 2017 launch. However, seven years later, it’s time for a successor to take over the baton from the most popular car that McLaren has built to date.
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McLaren 750S Fast Facts
- Engine: 4,0-litre, V8, twin-turbo petrol
- Power: 552kW at 7 500 r/min
- Torque: 800 N.m at 5 500 r/min
- Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
- DIN weight [fluids + 90% fuel]: 1 389 kg (coupé); 1 438 kg (Spider)
- 0-100km/h: coupé and Spider 2.8 seconds
- 0-200km/h: coupé 7.2 seconds; Spider 7.3 seconds
- 0-300km/h: coupé 19.8 seconds; Spider 20.4 seconds
- Top speed: coupé and Spider 332 km/h
The company could have taken the easy path and rolled out a mildly nip-tucked version of the 720S by adding a couple of minor cosmetic changes. At face value, that might well appear to be the case as the newbie hasn’t changed much externally. Only that the 750S represents a comprehensive revamp as McLaren claims 30 percent of its components are new. So the successive 750S is lighter, more potent and dynamically sharper than its predecessor. Its interface has also been improved to provide clearer graphics and make it easier to navigate through the various functions.
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The 720S was already a much lighter car than any of its rivals, yet McLaren has found ways to trim even more kilos from its girth. The 750S coupé weighs just 1 389 kg with all fluids on board (30 kg less than the 720S) and the drop-top Spider is only 49 kg heavier than its fixed-roof sibling at 1 438 kg.
The trusty M840T 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 has also been thoroughly reworked. It’s equipped with higher pressure turbos, new twin fuel pumps and a lightweight sports exhaust system, to ramp up outputs to a designation-describing 559 kW at 7 500 r/min and 800 N.m at 5 500 r/min (compared to 537 kW and 770 N.m for its 720S predecessor). With so much power and torque; and so little weight to shift, it’s hardly surprising the 750S nails down stunning acceleration numbers. The coupé dispatches the sprint from 0-100 km/h in just 2.8 seconds and 0-200 km/h in 7.2 seconds. To put its raw pace in perspective, even Lamborghini’s new 746 kW Revuelto is only a few tenths quicker to 200 klicks.
Weight-saving measures in the 750S involve carbon fibre-shelled racing seats that are a combined 17.5 kg lighter than the base seats in a 720S, while new 10-spoke ultra-lightweight forged wheels are the lightest ever fitted as standard on a series-production McLaren and save 13.8 kg. The new driver instrument display is 1.8 kg lighter and even the windscreen glass contributes to weight reduction, providing a 1.6 kg saving.
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The front track has been widened by 6 mm and spring rates are 3 per cent softer at the front and 4 per cent stiffer at the rear, while the Proactive Chassis Control (which substitutes mechanical anti-roll bars with a hydraulic anti-roll circuit) also features tweaks to both hardware and software to deliver sharper responses. The perception of responsiveness is further enhanced by an updated electro-hydraulic steering with a faster steering ratio.
My first stint is in a 750S Spider on a drive route comprising a few twisty sections, cobbled village streets and freeway schlepping, to discern how it fares as a long-distance cruiser. Setting off down the road, first impressions are dominated by the panoramic view from the driver’s seat. Not only is front and lateral vision unimpeded by blind spots, even the view out the back – normally a particular weak point in mid-engined hypercars – is exemplary. The 750S doesn’t throw up any histrionics at pootling speeds in traffic. The twin-turbo V8 is decently tractable at low revs, the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission shunts through ratios unobtrusively and ride quality is remarkably compliant for a car with such blistering racetrack pace.
One way to enjoy the Spider is obviously to drop the top – achieved in 11 seconds at a button press – or, if the weather isn’t amenable to alfresco motoring, you can still lower the rear window that separates the cockpit from the engine compartment to take in the V8 soundtrack in its fullness. The twin-turbo 4.0-litre motor has a sporty, hard-edged note, but it’s not remotely in the same league as Lamborghini’s operatic naturally aspirated V10 or V12.
A subsequent stint in the coupé across the same road loop reinforces the impressions gathered earlier. The 750S can devour winding roads once the traffic thins out, yet doesn’t tax all your senses when you’re stuck in a bumper-to-bumper grind in inner-city environs. You need access to a racetrack to fully tap into the dynamic abilities of the 750S and, as luck would have it, we have the 4.2 km-long Circuito do Estoril at our disposal in the afternoon.
The 750S is a monstrously fast car. The unrelenting fashion in which it piles on speed is eye-opening – we see almost 280 km/h on the digital speedo readout before the huge carbon-ceramic brakes are called upon to slow the car down for Turn One – a slow-ish third-gear right-hander. In addition to its raw pace, there’s a delightful delicacy to the McLaren’s pin-sharp responses. The hydraulically assisted power steering delivers textured feedback that you simply don’t get with the electrically assisted systems that have been adopted across the board by other brands.
The 750S is extremely sensitive to all inputs – throttle, brake and steering – so it provides an expansive bandwidth for capable drivers to adjust the car’s attitude at each cornering phase. The flip side is that it would be less effective at masking over deficiencies in drivers who may not be all that skilled in track/fast road driving.
The 750S is offered as standard with Pirelli P-Zero all-weather rubber, which can be ratcheted in intensity to Pirelli Corsa or track-focused semi-slick Pirelli Trofeo R tyres. The car we drove on track was equipped with Trofeo R rubber, which serves up high cornering limits, but you still need to be patient on the throttle on corner exits as 800 N.m is a lot to put down to the tarmac through just two contact patches. The active rear wing on the 750S has a 20 per cent larger surface area than before. It adjusts its angle to deliver extra downforce during cornering and braking, while slipping into drag reduction mode when accelerating in a straight line. It’s hard to quantify exactly how much the wing contributes to the McLaren’s track pace, but it certainly feels commandingly stable at high speed.
The 750S we hustled on track was fitted with carbon-shelled race seats with five-point harnesses. Despite their spartan appearance, they’re surprisingly comfortable. However, they’re too extreme for road use as clambering in and out is slightly awkward and fastening the five-point harness would get tedious after a while. The standard “Comfort” pews are the best option for road use, although the intermediate one-piece sports seats are also fine for day-to-day use. Sliding in behind the wheel, you’re faced with a new instrument display that moves with the steering column as you adjust the steering reach and rake to your liking. This means the instruments are never obscured by the rim, regardless of where you position the wheel.
On each side of the instrument cluster are toggle switches to select Powertrain and Handling modes, so you can move effortlessly between Comfort, Sport, Track and Active Dynamic settings while keeping your hands on the wheel. Other new features include the user experience that’s Apple CarPlay compatible and a new infotainment screen. The rear and surround view camera displays are also upgraded for higher definition and clarity, and there’s a new vehicle-lift system that raises the front of the 750S in only four seconds compared to the 10 seconds it takes in a 720S.
All in all, the 750S represents a comprehensive and carefully considered rework of the already capable 720S. Apart from being one of the fastest, most engaging offerings in its segment, it arguably sets the benchmark in terms of day-to-day comfort and usability. Life just got a little tougher for Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche.
