Mclaren hits new heights with its sensational 720S
FIRST DRIVE Mclaren’s new mid-range offering may be one of the best supercars ever
WHEN Mclaren unleashed the MP4-12C in 2011, the rarefied world of the supercar was very different from the way it is now. But even then, it was a landmark car. It wasn’t quite as good as a Ferrari 458, perhaps, but it wasn’t far wide of the mark.
Six summers on, Mclaren has reached stage two of its plan to rule the world of supercars, and the 720S is the result.
It has a new chassis tub called the Monocage II, a new 4.0-litre version of the familiar twin-turbo V8, and a new design language that does away with the huge air intake vents on the sides, but brings F1-inspired dihedral doors.
The 720S also gets a comprehensively rethought interior, with a lot more emphasis on quality and greater visibility thanks to new carbon fibre A-pillars that are half the width of their metal predecessors.
So not only is the 720S more potent and therefore faster than the car it replaces, it’s also more comfortable, more refined, better built and easier to live with, according to Mclaren. And just this once, there is zero hyperbole behind such claims.
Having driven it, we can confirm that all of the above is true. Take the interior; there is now a genuine sense of quality inside the car, with seemingly not a single piece of plastic in sight. Everything you touch and look at is fashioned from leather, carbon fibre or metal – and in terms of perceived quality, this elevates the 720S to a completely different level compared with any previous car from Mclaren Automotive.
Then there are those dihedral doors, which not only look fantastic when open, but also make it much easier to climb into or get out of the cabin. And once you’re ensconced behind the wheel, the all-round visibility is incredible – not just for a midengined car, but for any car. It feels almost as if you are sitting inside a goldfish bowl, so much vision do you have of what’s going on in the world surrounding you.
And then, of course, there’s the way the 720S drives, the way it sounds, the way it steers, the way it stops, the way it rides, and most of all, the way it goes.
How to describe the way the 720S accelerates when you put your foot down in, say, second gear at 20mph? Well, for starters, there is no lag. You press the throttle and the car goes, instantly, simple as that – as if it were powered by a 7.0-litre V12, not a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.
Second, the corresponding hit of acceleration is strong enough to make you clench your teeth, just to counteract the enormous energy that’s been unleashed.
Third, you hit the rev limiter pretty much immediately. And then you might think, hang on, where was the wheelspin? What on earth was that noise, a screaming Ferrari-
“The strong hit of acceleration is enough to make you clench your teeth”
like howl but with a more industrial undertone of menace beneath it? And where has everyone else gone?
As a whole, the 720S’s performance envelope is utterly incredible. Its straightline capabilities are right out there, with a 0-60mph claim of 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 212mph. I’d say zero to 100mph would come and go in little more than five seconds, given that it officially takes just 7.8 seconds to hit 124mph (200kmh) from rest. If anything, it feels even quicker than those cold, raw numbers might suggest.
You can tailor the severity and style of its delivery via a revised drive programme with four modes: Auto, Comfort, Sport and Track. Each setting tweaks the mapping for the throttle, gearchange, dampers, traction control and ESP.
In Auto or Comfort, the 720S rides as smoothly as a decent saloon, but still goes like a bullet if you bury the throttle. In Track it feels quite a lot like a racing car, to be honest, with much sharper body control, deliciously crisp steering and brakes, ridiculous traction and massive response from its engine and gearbox. There’s also a notable step up in aural excitement if the optional sport exhaust is fitted, as it was to the car tested.
Faults? It costs £209,000 – or £218,000 with the Performance Pack fitted – so it’s not exactly what you’d call attainable for the masses. But if ever a car were worth such money, the 720S is it.