MCLAREN BEGINS TESTING NEW 720S GT3 CAR
Development‘ exactly on target’ ahead of 2019 competition de but
Mclaren Automotive’s new 720S GT3 is “exactly on target” ahead of its competition debut in 2019, according to motorsport director Dan Walmsley.
The first GT3 machine to be developed in house at Mclaren Automotive’s new GT facility in Woking – taking over from Andrew Kirkaldy’s CRS organisation that operated under the Mclaren GT banner – the 720S GT3 is based on the marque’s 720S supercar and powered by a four-litre twin-turbo V8 engine.
Walmsley estimates that 95 per cent of parts are completely new to the 720S GT3, but told MN that he was “very encouraged” by the early potential displayed in testing with works drivers Rob Bell and Joe Osborne.
“We’re very impressed with the progress we’re making, we’re exactly on target both from a performance point of view, a reliability point of view and a homologation point of view, so we’re very happy so far,” he said.
“We’ve had a big job on our hands this year assembling the in house motorsport division, we’ve brought some fantastic expertise to the team and I’m delighted with the product that they’ve come together with. The potential in the car, we are already seeing, we’re excited about that.”
Retailing at £440,000 for customers, development work on the 720S GT3 has been focused on making the car more accessible for gentleman drivers and simpler for teams to operate than the outgoing 650S GT3, which won the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup with Garage 59 in 2016.
“We wanted to make the car both a pleasure to drive for the amateur racer and also easier and more practical for the race teams to run, and from a performance perspective we’ve really changed the philosophy of the car,” said Walmsley. “There’s a significant rework on the aerodynamics, the suspension geometry and the powertrain pickup.”
Mclaren is still to define when the car would make its competitive debut, although it is understood that an appearance in the VLN Endurance Championship prior to the car’s homologation is unlikely.
“We’re going to be selling the cars in limited numbers for 2019 to focus on the best in class customer ownership experience, so it will largely be around customers that we’re working with and what their calendars dictate,” he said. “At this stage we’re not making any confirmed entries.”