Better on road, faster on track
The 720S replaces the 650S – and improves on every aspect
AT VALLELUNGA circuit, McLaren Job One – the first ever MP4-12C – sits at the head of a row of new 720S McLarens. In many ways it looks closer to an F1 than it does to the 720S that has grown from it. Yet there’s 19 years between F1 and first MP4-12C, just six between that first MP4-12C and the 720S.
So McLaren Automotive has grown and grown. The 10,000-car landmark was passed in November last year, and 2017 alone looks likely to see 4000 cars produced. The latest of those is the £218,000 720S, the second generation in the ‘Super Series’ line, replacing the 650S.
The 720S doesn’t look so different, but 91% of its components are new (rear reflectors and reversing lamps are the same as the 650S’s, if you must know), power is up from 641bhp to 710bhp (720PS) and, at 1283kg, it’s 18kg lighter. Consequently it’s faster, with 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds and a 212mph top speed.
So let’s start from the centre and move out; the centre, in this case, being the carbonfibre tub, now in its second generation as ‘Monocage II’. It’s lighter and stronger, and its cutaway roof and dihedral doors allow easier entry and exit, while the all-round glazing – the B-pillars are now glazed and windscreen pillars slimmed down – gives much better vision.
The styling is slicker, with more sophisticated active aero. The rear spoiler deploys for highspeed cornering and braking, and huge cooling ducts cleverly disguised behind the ‘blades’ of the ‘double-skin’ aerodynamic doors provide 15% more efficient cooling.
But how does it feel? The first impression is that it’s much airier inside, and instantly easier to manoeuvre. The interior has moved up a notch, with virtually no plastic on show, though you’ll still have to appreciate carbonfibre to enjoy the 720S cockpit.
Controls are refreshing simple, with the gear selector down on the centre console and transmission and suspension mode selectors up ahead, both with Comfort, Sport and Track settings, Sport replacing the previous ‘N for Normal’ (‘There’s nothing normal about this car,’ quips product manager Ian Marshall).
Funny thing is, if you leave the settings in Sport, and let the transmission do its own thing rather than playing on the paddles, it actually does feel normal – but in a good way. It nips smoothly through the gears, letting the 4.0-litre V8 sit at a smooth, torquey 1800-2000rpm, the second-generation McLaren active suspension riding the potholes like a family saloon. And this wasn’t an old-school car launch on glass-smooth EU-financed Spanish roads. This was in and around Rome, with the most intense traffic madness and tarmac decay this side of Calcutta.
It could almost be boring, especially as even
with the sports exhaust option the soundtrack tends to be whizzy – with added whistles and whooshes when the twin turbos kick in – rather than boomingly aggressive.
Except of course it’s not boring, it’s just unusually usable. Boot it, take control of the paddleshifts, allow the engine to rev towards its 8200rpm redline, and it becomes a living, breathing entity, hugely fast but precise with it.
Nowhere is that more obvious than on track. This is where the 720S really shows its progress over the 650S, doing everything just a little bit better, and with more feedback to the driver. It’s phenomenally quick, and it responds to every input, shifting around, sliding a little, digging in and catapulting out of corners, the aero making noticeable differences all the way through.
In Track mode, there’s a neat new function known as Variable Drift Control, which isn’t to facilitate Fast & Furious-style slides but instead allows the driver to gradually increase (in nine steps) how far the electronics will allow the car to oversteer on track before rescuing it from a potential engagement with the gravel trap. In human terms, it will turn you into an apparent driving god. And if you want evidence of your skills, there’s in-car telemetry and video, which can be viewed on the centre console screen or downloaded. Your own laps can even be compared with those of other McLaren drivers.
So these are the two extremes of the 720S: significant improvements over the 650S in both ease-of-use and circuit performance. On the former, it’s up with McLaren’s most civilised model, the 570GT – there’s even room for a couple of holdalls in the front, and the same behind the seats. With the latter, it’s biting at the heels of the track-focused 675LT.
That old cliché about the supercar you can drive every day? It’s just been redefined again.