Following last year’s launch of the 765LT — the ‘Long Tail’ hy-po version of its popular 720S — McLaren has shown off the drop-top 765LT Spider for the first time.
The model cops many of the 765LT’s performance quirks. It’s powered by the same familiar 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 producing 562kW of power and 800Nm of torque.
It’s just as quick as the coupe to 100km/h and 200km/h, claiming the dual feats in 2.8 seconds and 7.2 seconds. And if your right foot is planted for long enough, you’ll hit its top speed — 330km/h.
It’s also stunning. McLaren’s integration of the electric hard-top roof means that, when it’s up, it looks almost identical to its hard-top cousin (while curiously offering more headroom thanks to its construction). But, with it down, it gets a pair of gorgeous buttresses behind the cab.
The cabin is more or less unchanged, too — barring that minor detail of occasionally having infinite headroom. There’s plenty of exposed carbon fibre, acres of Alcantara, an 8-inch touchscreen, and numerous spec options.
McLaren’s press images show both a blue 765LT Spider with blue highlights and stitching across its upholstery, and a green model with a subtle black-on-black ensemble.
As with McLaren’s past convertible projects, the 765LT Spider’s real party trick is how little the new roof has on its performance. McLaren’s latest MonoCage II carbon fibre structure means that the brand can lose some of the inherent rigidity that a roof brings without needing a bevy of additional bracing in its construction.
In this case, McLaren boasts that the 765LT Spider weighs just 49kg more than the standard 765LT, with an overall weight of 1388kg. The top is made from carbon fibre, and aided by the use of thinner, lighter glass and a lightweight titanium exhaust system.
Indeed, it’s a testament to McLaren’s boffins that the Spider is so similar to the hard-top. Its linked-hydraulic Proactive Chassis Control II suspension calibration is admittedly unique (presumably to cater for the added weight), but most everything else about the Spider is identical.
It gets the same ‘Long Tail’ springs and dampers, the same aero set-up capable of generating 25 per cent more downforce than the standard 720S, and it also wears Pirelli P-Zero Trofeo R boots.
The 765LT Spider will be priced from $659,000 in New Zealand. It gets a fair swag of standard no-cost kit, too, including Bowers & Wilkins audio, vehicle lifters, and parking sensors all round.
