The McLaren 720S is a benchmark supercar, mixing jaw-dropping track capability with a suspension setup that’s compliant and comfy even on awful, potholed pavement. It’s also slightly long in the tooth: McLaren introduced the 720S in 2017 as a replacement for the 650S. Now, the number rises again. Meet the McLaren 750S, with more power, lighter weight, and a totally revamped interior.
First, the power: McLaren’s familiar 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 has been squeezed and prodded to crank out 740 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, up from 710 and 568, respectively. That power goes strictly to the rear wheels through a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox reworked for quicker acceleration in the lower gears. It seems to have paid off — McLaren says the 750S will sprint from zero to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds and reach 124 mph in 7.2 (or 7.3 if you go for the 750S Spider with its power-retractable hardtop). Your ears will be entertained, too, thanks to a reworked center-exit exhaust system that McLaren says was inspired by the P1.
In the ride-and-handling department, the 750S gets an all-new version of McLaren’s hydraulic adaptive suspension. Creatively, it’s called PCC III, for the third-generation version of Proactive Chassis Control. As with all PCC-equipped McLarens, the 750S manages body roll by cross-linking the dampers at each axle — when the outside wheels load up as you turn into a corner, the pressure accumulating in the outside dampers is transferred into upward pressure on the inside wheels, keeping the body flat and maximizing traction through a curve. Compared to the 720S, the new 750S has softer springs up front and stiffer springs at the rear, and the front track has been widened by 6 mm (roughly 1/4 inch) for improved grip. The electro-hydraulic steering sports a quicker ratio and a redesigned pump.
It’s clear that the 750S is a reworking of the 720S, but the changes are more than skin-deep. McLaren says that 30 percent of the components in the 720S were fully updated or changed, and you see this most clearly in the weight figures: McLaren says the new 2024 model is 66 pounds lighter than the outgoing 720S, with the new model coming in at 2,815 pounds dry. Add all the necessary fluids and a 90-percent-full fuel tank, and you’ve got a mid-engine supercar that tips the scales at 3,062 pounds. (And kudos to McLaren for quoting both a dry weight and a full-fluids DIN curb weight in its press release.) You’ll need to option up your 720S coupe to achieve that lowest possible weight, including stuff like carbon-fiber-shell racing seats (38.6 pounds lighter than the standard seats) and 10-spoke ultra-light forged wheels (30.4 pounds lighter than the base-model wheels). Optional carbon-ceramic brakes come straight from the McLaren Senna, and the active rear wing has been raised and lengthened.
Should you fancy the wind in your hair, there’s a 750S Spider to suit you. The power-retractable hardtop model adds 108 pounds over the fixed-roof coupe, and naturally, the Spider loses the coupe’s delightful windowed rear roof pillars, but as McLaren puts it, “such is the strength of the carbon fibre monocoque that no additional reinforcement is needed.” The power roof goes up and down in less than 11 seconds, and it’s optionally available with electrochromic glass, giving you a dimmable panoramic roof even when you’ve got the lid closed.
If you live your life a quarter-mile (or a lap of Silverstone) at a time, you may want to stick with the coupe: the 3,170-pound (with fluids and fuel) 750S Spider is one-tenth slower to 124 mph (at 7.3 seconds) and a whopping 0.6 seconds behind the coupe in the crucial zero-to-186-mph run. McLaren says the 750S coupe will do the quarter-mile in 10.1 seconds, while the Spider does it in 10.3.
McLaren jazzed up the interior of the new 750S as well. You’ll finally be able to plug your devices into a USB-A or USB-C charger, and McLaren at last gives us standard Apple CarPlay. More fitting for this car, the Active Dynamic controls that adjust drivetrain and chassis settings have moved from the center stack to the driver’s instrument panel, reachable with your hands on the steering wheel. A new McLaren Control Launcher lets you call up your favorite drivetrain and chassis settings with the touch of a single button.
What’s the price of all this performance? McLaren says the 750S starts at $324,000 for the coupe, or $345,000 for the Spider. U.S. customers will have to budget $5,500 for destination fees as well as $2,240 for an “Americas Accessory Pack,” which is mandatory for U.S. buyers and comes with stuff like a front license plate mount, a battery tender, and tire cradles for folks who park their McLarens more than they drive them.