Evo

Mclaren 720S GT3X

This derestrict­ed version of Mclaren’s GT3 racer could just be the ultimate trackday car

- STEVE SUTCLIFFE

TO BEGIN WITH, YOU CAN’T HELP wondering about the Mclaren 720S GT3X. Wondering if, despite its 740bhp twin-turbocharg­ed V8 that is so much more powerful than the GT3 engine on which it’s based, it is actually just an expensive irrelevanc­e that has no real purpose in life.

After all, it costs £720,000, can never be raced and can’t legally be driven on the road either. A cynic (or maybe even just a realist) could easily accuse it of being little more than a folly on four wheels with a great big wing on the back. But the very fact there will be just 15 examples made will surely enhance its appeal among its intended audience, even though only half this allocation has so far been fulfilled. And if you consider it in the context of the £2m Lamborghin­i Essenza SCV12 and the pricier-still Ferrari FXX-K, the GT3X could almost be considered a bargain – so long as it delivers where it matters most.

Thankfully, it does. With 740bhp and 567lb ft from its uncorked twin-turbo V8 engine, a sixspeed sequential Xtrac gearbox, a Gt3-style cabin with an optional passenger seat, and a no-rules aerodynami­c package that means it has enough downforce to leave its paint momentaril­y behind through a corner, the GT3X is virtually in a league of one when it comes to track appeal. And sheer speed.

It’s not just tenths but entire seconds faster round most circuits than the GT3 racing car on which

it’s based. As indeed, you could argue, it should be, given that it costs a quarter of a million pounds more than a regular 720S GT3 and boasts another 150+bhp because its M840T V8 doesn’t have its throat blocked by an Fia-spec air restrictor.

What’s in no doubt is that the GT3X is a mighty piece of kit, as we discovered when Mclaren let us loose in it around the fearsome Navarra circuit in Northern Spain for half a day.

On initial acquaintan­ce the X seems impossibly intimidati­ng: visually and technicall­y. Climb inside its button-infested cockpit, settle into the racing seat and the pedal box moves to meet your feet but the wheel – the yoke, if you will – is fixed. As is the seat with its six-point harness that clamps you in place. At which point the trepidatio­n factor gradually begins to reduce, chiefly because the ergonomics are so good and the visibility nowhere near as bad as it usually is in monsters like this.

The view forward is excellent, while the view behind and to the sides is provided by a large hi-res screen in the middle of the dash, which works really well, and everything else inside the cabin is positioned just-so. It feels natural in here, not bewilderin­g.

Flick the ignition, thumb the starter button and the noise is loud but not deafening when the twin-turbo V8 catches. To get going you press the heavy clutch right to the floor, engage first gear via the right-hand paddle, at which point there’s a tell-tale from behind, then you just give it plenty of revs and let the clutch back out as gently as you can.

Do it right and the GT3X begins to move with only a small lurch and you’re away, no more clutch to worry about until you come back into the pits at the end of a stint because, from now on, the shifts snap through sequential­ly, up or down.

You need to be accelerati­ng or braking quite hard before the Xtrac ’box will shift properly, as I soon discover. If you’re in any way tentative on the stop and go pedals, either it won’t shift at all or it will spit the gears right back at you. But once you suss this, the gearbox works a treat.

It takes a lap or two to get some heat into the wide Pirelli slick tyres. The brakes need a fair bit of warming up, too. As does your brain before

‘It takes a lap or two to get some heat into the wide Pirelli slick tyres’

you can even think about opening up the GT3X properly. You’ll turn it round and engage with the undergrowt­h – or worse – if you give it too much too soon on a track like this, even with the traction control configured in a fairly friendly setting.

But when all the temperatur­es are up and your head is in the right place, the GT3X has a very big repertoire of tricks up its sleeve, the most obvious of which is its ability to generate raw speed across the ground. A lot of raw speed.

Initially it’s the pure accelerati­on that blows you away. At just 1210kg ‘dry’ the GT3X has a with-fluids power-to-weight ratio of around 550bhp per ton, which means it’s fairly tasty in a straight line. Way more tasty than the 600bhp GT3 racing version.

There’s also very little lag to its power and torque delivery, with boost seeming to swell from the moment you touch the throttle at anything much above 3500rpm. And, to begin with, you do wonder if you will ever be able to get anywhere near what this car is ultimately capable of on this track, on any track, so rapidly does the horizon appear in the windscreen.

But the more you drive it, the harder you push it, the less intimidati­ng it all seems. Which is unusual but also intentiona­l on Mclaren’s behalf – because the engineers didn’t want to make a car that only the most talented can get beneath the skin of.

Instead, they wanted to make a track car that was very fast indeed but also approachab­le, manageable, even for the enthusiast­ic amateur driver. And after a few laps of building up to what it can do, I realise that it’s the way the GT3X stops and steers and goes round corners that helps reduce the fear factor, not increase it.

These are the things that make it so damn quick around the lap but without it feeling scary. It’s still a massively exciting car to drive, be in no doubt about that. The power of its brakes is huge, but it’s the stability and the sheer grip it generates into and through the corners that is probably most impressive of all. Basically, you aim it and it sticks, simple as that. And even if you do get it wrong, the GT3X doesn’t feel like it wants to bite – not straight away at any rate.

It lets you know when it’s not happy – when you are taking the mick with your entry speed to a corner or with your throttle input on the exit, for example – and it gives you plenty of warning as you approach the limits before the physics take over and try to spit you off.

By the end of the session I’d fallen for this extraordin­ary machine, not just because of its speed but because it rewards you if you get it right – and does its best to help you out if you start to get it wrong.

That’s a mighty combinatio­n, given just how quick it is. In the end it’s faster than you’d ever believe possible for a car that weighs this much, but still nowhere near as scary as it looks. So if you’ve got a spare £720k burning a hole in your Swiss bank account, you should probably go and get one while you still can. ☒

Engine V8, 3994cc, twin-turbo

Power 740bhp @ 7500rpm Torque 567lb ft @ 5500rpm Weight (dry) 1210kg (621bhp/ton) 0-62mph 2.8sec Top speed 190mph+ Basic price £720,000

+ Quicker than the GT3 race car

- You can’t race it (or drive it on the road) evo rating ★★★★ ☆

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 ?? ?? From the top: serious underbody aero; cockpit is pure race car, with screen to provide rearward vision; GT3X laps Navarra circuit; seats are fixed, pedal box moves
From the top: serious underbody aero; cockpit is pure race car, with screen to provide rearward vision; GT3X laps Navarra circuit; seats are fixed, pedal box moves
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