The McLaren 765LT is the most extreme McLaren supercar ever made

03rd March 2020

Seán Ward

If you’re slightly unhinged and have come away from some time away from the McLaren 720S thinking it needed more power, less weight and more speed, then the new McLaren 765LT could be the perfect car for you.

This is the all-new McLaren 765LT, the latest in a long(ish) line of ‘Long Tail’ McLaren machines to grace our roads. It is the most extreme mid-engined supercar the company has ever made, a faster and more intense experience than the 570S-based 600LT and, this car’s true predecessor, the old 650S-derived 675LT.

Let’s cover some basic statistics first of all. It has 765PS, or 755bhp, weighs 1,339kg, will accelerate to 62mph in 2.8 seconds and won’t stop accelerating until it reaches 205mph. That sounds like plenty of performance for most of us, doesn’t it?

While the ‘Long Tail’ moniker can be traced back to the McLaren F1 Long Tail of the 1990s, the reality nowadays is that ‘LT’ denotes track-orientated performance – take a standard and already very fast McLaren and make it faster and more engaging.

At first glance you’ll notice the aggressive carbon-fibre splitter, rear diffuser and side sills, the little vents over the front wheelarches for brake cooling, the quad-exhaust at the rear and the ten-spoke lightweight wheels. But it’s more than performance tinsel. The wheels, for example, save a total of 22kg over the wheels you’ll find on a standard 720S, and wear Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres. The exhaust system weighs 10.9kg less than that of the 720S as well, and creates a more intense soundtrack. All of the aerodynamic tweaks bring 25 per cent more downforce compared to the 720S, too.

Climb inside and the interior has been stripped back to the bare bones. The seats are now one-piece carbon affairs, the shells of which weigh just 3.35kg each, saving a total of 18kg. The air-conditioning system has been thrown away too (although it can be put back as a no-cost option) and the windscreen and side windows have been made of thinner glass, all contributing to a total diet of 80kg.

The suspension uses McLaren’s Proactive Chassis Control II system, whereby the wheels use fully independent hydraulic suspension and adaptive dampers to control body movement. The system has been tweaked, of course, but McLaren has included additional ‘helper’ springs to reduce weight by a further 1.5kg. The front track width has been increased by 6mm as well, while the front ride height has been dropped by 5mm. If you thought this was just a 720S with a body kit you’d be very wrong indeed.

What about the engine? The 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8, as we said before, now has 765PS (755bhp) at 7,500rpm. Torque is up to 800Nm (592lb ft).

Performance is staggering. 0-62mph takes 2.8 seconds, 0-124mph takes 7.2 seconds and the top speed is 205mph. Those stats are similar to those of the 720S, of course, but remember this isn’t about straight-line speed: this will feel more direct and more agile than the 720S, a more raw experience. Gordon Ramsay would hate it.

Just 765 examples will be built, all of which will be sold for an as yet undisclosed price. It’ll be more than the 720S’s £208,000, of course, but don’t worry, you can get a 12-year extended warranty with it. You don’t get that with a Kia Picanto.