YET another new McLaren has arrived, providing further evidence of the British company’s expertise at wringing ever-more models from the same basic ingredients, writes William Scholes.
But with the 765LT, as the car is called, McLaren does seem to have given us further proof that it knows how to perfect the recipe and put clear water ahead of itself and Ferrari in the upper reaches of the race-car-with-number-plates market.
McLaren uses the 'LT' suffix, as aficionados will already know, to denote its hardcore 'Longtail' cars, the name a nod to the longer, more aerodynamic bodywork that the F1 sported to go racing at circuits like Le Mans more than 20 years ago.
Based on the marque's 720S, which is already widely regarded as the superior supercar of the moment, the 765LT is an object lesson of the extent to which McLaren will go to pursue marginal gains.
Its existence also tells us a lot about supercar customers’ desire to have the best of the best and the bragging rights attached to turning up at the next millionaires’ track day with the latest, lightest and fastest carbon fibre missile.
Whether cars as extraordinary and outrageous as the 765LT will have a place in a post-coronavirus world is up for debate.
What is indisputable is that this Longtail is yet another engineering tour de force from McLaren.
In many ways, this Longtail's short story is the same as that told by any other manufacturer who wants to build a harder, faster, more thrilling version of an existing model: "More power, less weight."
But it is the obsessive lengths that McLaren has gone to in order to create the 765LT that help set it apart and make it deserving of its own chapter; here are some of the highlights.
The 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 generates 755bhp and 590lb.ft. Unsurprisingly, this is enough to hurl the 765LT down the road with tremendous violence. From a standstill, expect to be past 60mph in 2.7 seconds and beyond 124mph in 7.2 seconds. The top speed is a scarcely relevant 205mph.
McLaren’s 720S is regarded by many experts as the finest supercar money can buy. The 765LT turns it up to 11, with 15 per cent quicker in-gear acceleration.
The 765LT weighs 80kg less than a 720S, tipping the scales at 1,339kg, which is about the same as something like a Ford Focus. Tick all the option boxes for carbon fibre everything and you can get your 765LT to weigh as little as 1,229kg. That means you have 755bhp in a car that’s the same weight as a Ford Fiesta. Or put another way, a power-to-weight ratio of 614bhp per tonne.
The diet includes carbon fibre components, a titanium exhaust system, Formula 1-specification transmission materials and thinner glass.
Helping the 765LT to fastest lap times is an aerodynamic package which includes a ‘Longtail’ active rear wing. It’s all made from carbon fibre, naturally.
Upgraded chassis hardware includes bespoke dampers and springs, a 6mm wider front track and 5mm lower front ride height than the 720S and new software for the suspension’s computer. Mere millimetres matter at this level…
The wheels are forged alloy items with titanium wheel bolts and wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres.
The brakes are a work of art: carbon-ceramic discs are clamped by calipers from the McLaren Senna, complete with F1-inspired cooling ducts. They can haul a 765LT travelling at 124mph to a standstill in less than 110 metres. The 62mph to zero distance is just 29.5 metres.
The quad-pipe fully titanium exhaust is 40 per cent lighter than a steel system.
Inside are carbon fibre-shelled racing seats and lashings of lightweight Alcantara trim.
Even the battery is a lightweight lithium ion unit, saving 3kg compared to that found in the 720S.
Just 765 examples will be built.
Although it’s one of McLaren’s ‘Longtail’ cars, the majority of the 765LT’s growth spurt of 57mm over the 720S comes at the front of the car. The nose has been lengthened by 48mm and the active wing is just 9mm longer.
