This is a scary-fast Spider
McLaren’s 720S Spider is a virtuoso supercar – yet still raw enough to be super scary. David Linklater reports.
On TradeMe at the moment there’s a slightly used McLaren Senna, listed by McLaren Auckland on behalf of the owner.
It’s yours for $1.825 million, which is nice-house money and about $100k over the original new price. Then again, it’s a trackfocused, road-legal hypercar limited to 500 units worldwide.
And only favoured McLaren customers were invited to buy one in the first place; so this is a real opportunity.
But if you have an eye for real value, consider the McLaren 720S. Much of the Senna is based on the series-production 720S.
It’s not as exotic, but the 720S is just 0.1sec slower to 100kmh. And it’s a mere $479,000.
Even better, you can have the 720S as a Spider convertible. It adds $46,000 to the price and 49kg to the weight, but loses nothing in strength (thank you carbon fibre construction) or acceleration and adds some awesome wind in the hair. It’s still a Senna-relative bargain.
Hilarious. But that’s still crazy-expensive, right?
Well, supercars cost and although the 720S Spider is a bit more expensive than a Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder (but quite a bit more special), the price of the McLaren is in the same ballpark as a Ferrari 488 Spider. These things are relative.
The base 720S Spider price is $525,000, but our test car is in $535,000 Performance trim and it has a few options like Azores paint ($15k), Sports exhaust ($10k), special wheels/brake calipers ($11.5k) and before you know it we’ve hit $603,462. It’s only money.
McLarens are a bit confusing. Can you talk me through it?
One of the cool things about McLaren is that it now stretches right, ahem, down towards mainstream Porsche 911 territory and then right up into the hypercar stratosphere.
The Sports Series includes the 570, 540 and 600 models (if you have $300k-$400k in your pocket).
The 720S belongs to the Super Series – more serious supercar stuff hovering around the halfmillion-dollar mark.
Then you have the really special, limited-run hypercars like the forthcoming Speedtail, Senna and P1: they are the Ultimate Series. At extreme prices.
Back to the 720S: does it have the obligatory supercarSpider clever roof?
It sure does. The roof itself is made of a single piece of carbon fibre, or an optional glass panel ($15k) that can go from transparent to heavily tinted at the touch of a button. It can retract in just 11 seconds at up to 50kmh.
It also works entirely by electric motors, meaning it’s almost silent. The rear window can be lowered into a recess even when the roof is up, putting the soundtrack of the car’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that much closer. So no, it might not matter that the roof mechanism is silent.
So it’s good for showing off. But does it feel like a proper supercar?
You sit impossibly low, legs outstretched with a low nose in front and a lot of engine behind. Less supercar, more racing car.
The interior is almost spartan, black with grippy Alcantara everywhere. Press a button and the digital instrument display goes into Thunderbirds mode, revolving to give you an even more minimalist readout for track driving.
Half-million-dollar supercar it may be, but the idea of the Super Series 720S is that you can still drive it every day. The engine is docile at low revs, while the dualclutch seven-speed gearbox shifts smoothly.
Visibility is also pretty good: the distinctive buttresses at the back of the cabin are partly made of glass so you can see through them.
However, the first time you floor the throttle is a true WTF (Wow That’s Fast) moment. You
McLaren 720S Spider Base price: Powertrain and performance:
$525,000 ($603,462 as tested).
4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8, 530kW/770Nm, 7-speed automated dual-clutch transmission, RWD, Combined economy 14.1 litres per 100km, 0-100kmh 2.9 seconds, 0-200kmh 7.9sec.
Vital statistics: 4543mm long, 1196mm high, 2670mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 208 litres (combined tonneau with roof up and front trunk), 19-inch alloy wheels with 245/35 tyres front and 20in 305/30 rear.
Astonishingly fast, bling-free cabin, supercar with a Kiwi connection.
We don’t like: Easy to run up a big bill on the options list.
We like:
can easily spin the rear wheels in the first three gears, even on a dry surface. It’s brutal, terrifying even.
Gloriously so and a reminder why there’s a place for cars like this in a world where an EV-SUV can accelerate just as fast.
If such performance is for thrills (in a road car, surely that’s the only point) then the assault on the senses you get from a proper supercar is the real thing. A superfast EV is merely impressive; a super-fast twin-turbo petrol-V8 supercar feels extreme and utterly addictive.
The V8 is happy to tell you it’s a (twin) turbo: the raw exhaust note is punctuated by rising and falling wooshes.
The pops and bangs during fullthrottle gearchanges are a whipcrack around the ears.
The handling is equally accessible and equally scary depending on your driving style. The hydraulic steering is sublime, the chassis superbly balanced but still subject to the excesses of the brutal powertrain when provoked.
You can dial-up and dial-down handling and powertrain independently via two rotary dials on the Active Dynamics panel. The same system allows you to activate the rear wing, which acts as an adaptive spoiler or airbrake depending on the driving situation. It’s pretty cool to see that at work.
The 720S really is well tied down and wonderfully responsive. But for us mere mortals, any car with this much power and cornering ability also gives you enough rope to hang yourself.
People who know a lot more about this stuff than me have called the 720S the finest supercar you can buy.
I found it completely useable and yet knuckle-whiteningly immersive when the occasion arose. As it should be.
Any other cars I should consider?
Third-share in a McLaren Senna, obviously. I’ve not driven a Lamborghini Huracan Spyder but the aforementioned Ferrari 488 Spider is a worthy rival: arguably less raw and more luxurious, but hardly lacking in focus.
Nice to have the choice, right?