Motoring
We test-drive McLaren’s aerodynamic 720S speedster
It’s not often that a car can leave you physically exhausted and mentally drained. The McLaren 720S does, though – without having to slam it into a wall. You can blame its pace. While the performance of the 720S won’t deliver a knockout blow to its Ferrari 488 rival, it could certainly give it a bruise or two.
The car pulls enough g-forces to leave you with sore neck muscles. Your kidneys, too, could be tender from being thrown around the cabin. Developed by the fledgling English manufacturer best known for its 12 Formula One Drivers’ Championship wins, the 720S edges into hypercar territory with a blend of straight-line thrust and cornering flair.
At its heart is a 4.0-litre twin-turbo eight-cylinder engine, a heavy update to the 3.8-litre used in other McLarens. Power peaks at 530kW or 720 horsepower (giving it its alphanumeric nomenclature). Pack it into the rear of a carbonfibre chassis and you’ve got one potent power-to-weight equation.
Acceleration to 100 kilometres per hour takes 2.9 seconds, limited only by traction as the sticky Pirelli tyres fight wheel spin through the first two of seven gears. It takes only another 4.9 seconds for the 720S to top 200km/h on its way to a blistering 341km/h. But it’s the technology within that converts raw performance into meticulously honed and ballistically fast laps.
McLaren’s brake-steer system helps point the car by apportioning additional brake force to individual wheels. Active suspension, using software developed in conjunction with the University of Cambridge, adjusts dampers individually hundreds of times a second. And electronics monitor traction and power to work out which of the mammoth 20-inch rear tyres to divert up to 770Nm of torque to.
But it’s the F1-inspired aerodynamics that pull the performance equation together. Designers used computational fluid dynamics and took their cues from sharks and rays, shaping surfaces to achieve optimum airflow. Theatrical butterfly-like doors feature a second skin that separates the airflow to cool mechanical components and feed the mid-mounted engine, while blades behind the front wheels mimic those in modern F1 cars and assist to smooth the air streaming along doors.
An active wing in the rear adjusts according to driver inputs and speed to help pin the car to the road. The broad rear spoiler can pop up within half a second during braking, helping to push the tail to the bitumen, aiding stability and reducing stopping distances.
The 720S isn’t perfect. There’s the occasional quality glitch and, as with competitors, it’s easy to spend tens of thousands of dollars on everything from cameras to even more carbon fibre. But its ability to deal admirably with everyday roads before unleashing with fury around a racetrack cements the 720S as a superstar car.