McLaren 765LT

FORECOURT McLAREN 765LT

Engine

The 4.0-litre V8 punches out 754bhp and 800Nm of torque, giving the 765LT a 0-60mph of just 2.7 seconds

McLaren’s latest Longtail car has been designed with the track in mind, so Jack Evans took it round one of the UK’s most famous loops to find out what it’s like.

THE KNOWLEDGE McLaren 765LT

Price (as tested): £280,000 Engine: 4.0-litre V8

Power: 754bhp Torque: 800Nm

Max speed:

205mph

O-60mph:

2.7 seconds

MPG (combined):

24.6

Emissions:

280g/km CO2

WHAT IS IT?

This is the latest in the Woking-based firm’s range of Longtail vehicles. They’re essentially cars that bring heightened performance and enhanced aerodynamics over and above the already rather razor-edged regular road cars. Yet while this car is at home on the track, it’s also a full-on road car – just one that happens to top out at 205mph.

WHAT’S NEW?

The 765LT takes its basic platform and design from McLaren’s current 720S, which is why the two look quite similar – from the front end at least. But swivel round to the back and you’ll find a far more dramatic design with a huge, long ‘tail’ – you can see what they did there – giving additional downforce at the rear. It’s also been on a diet to shed some unwanted pounds over its road-going stablemate. In fact, thanks to lighter seats, more carbon fibre and clever motorsport-inspired polycarbonate glazing – among other measures – the 765LT is 80kg lighter than the 720S.

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET?

You’ve got the same 4.0-litre V8 as you’ll find in the 720S – and a variety of McLarens, in fact – but here it’s been tweaked up to 754bhp and 800Nm of torque, which are sizeable figures for a car that only weighs slightly more than a Ford Fiesta.

Zero to 60mph? That’ll take just 2.7 seconds. Zero to 124mph takes a frankly astounding seven seconds. Flat out, it’ll do 207mph, and from our experience, the 765LT wouldn’t take awfully long to reach that top speed.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?

Our first opportunity to drive the 765LT was on track – at Silverstone in fact – so we’ll have to leave our road-based conclusions at the door for now. But at the circuit, even on a wet and soggy autumn day, the McLaren feels utterly unhinged.

There’s the performance for starters, which pins you back to the seat with the merest prod of the throttle, while the steering, bristling and alive, forces you to wrestle the car around the bends. Act a little cavalier with the accelerator and the 765LT will make you fully aware of it, although there’s balance there to help manage the slide. The shifts feel razor-sharp and ping into place with a ‘thunk’, which only adds to the brutal nature of the car overall.

The cabin

The driving position feels spot on and focused purely on the task of motoring as quickly as possible.

Looks

The rear is dominated by the huge wing and has a purposeful large central titanium exhaust.

The steering, bristling and alive, forces you to wrestle the car around the bends.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

The front end of the 765LT appears relatively close in design to the regular 720S, albeit with a variety of additional cuts and grooves to aid cooling. There’s a large scoop atop the car’s domed cabin area, which helps to chill the otherwise quite-hot engine bay area.

At the back, the huge wing dominates proceedings, while the large central titanium exhaust looks more purposeful than the one you’ll find on the 720S.

WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE?

Get into the 765LT’s cabin and, initially at least, things are pretty much regular McLaren. The steering wheel sits right up into your chest and the driving position itself feels spot on. Large bucket seats are fitted with racing harnesses to keep you pinned in place, while vast swathes of Alcantara have been applied to all of the touchpoints through the cabin.

In short, it’s a no-frills cabin that’s focused on the task of driving.

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE?

As with most track-orientated cars, the 765LT is a model where you pay more for less. So despite a hefty £280,000 price tag, there’s no radio or air conditioning, although both can be added should they be required. There’s a clear driver display just behind the wheel, and it moves when you change through different modes. This means that when you make the switch, the dials become clearer and less distracting.

WHAT DO THE PRESS THINK?

Autocar said: ‘You get the feeling here . . . that Woking cared significantly more about how much fun this car was ready to provide, and how many different ways and environments it could be driven and enjoyed in, than how quickly it went.’

WHAT DO WE THINK?

There’s no sane person who will get into the 720S and think ‘This needs to be faster’. But the very nature of supercars is that they need to be faster, lighter, quicker. The 765LT is all of those things, while above and beyond that it’s simply exhilarating to drive.

Our slippery drive around Silverstone might not have been the most apt place to showcase its talents, but even here the sheer capability of this car really hit home.

TARGET BUYERS:

Those who find the standard 720S too ‘mundane’.

THE RIVALS:

Ferrari 488 Pista, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Lamborghini Huracan Performante.

KEY SELLING POINTS:

1. Unhinged performance. 2. Wild appearance. 3. Driver-focused cabin.

DEAL CLINCHER: The 765LT brings incredible levels of performance to an already otherworldly range of cars.