McLaren 765LT review

It’s 80kg lighter than the 720S from which it is derived, and only 30kg heavier than a Senna, thanks to additional carbon fibre inside and out, titanium exhausts, thinner glass, a polycarbonate rear screen  and the usual trick of making the air-con and infotainment no cost options. It has another 45bhp, sufficient to take you from rest to 124mph in seven seconds flat. It has a wider track, bespoke suspension, a shortened final drive and Senna brakes too.

We were only allowed to drive it on a track which was a shame – and precludes by itself any chance of a ten out of ten rating – where it proved a surprising proposition, and not just because of its frankly ridiculous pace. I thought it might be a Senna-lite kind of car, rapid but ultimately a steady understeerer. Not a bit of it: it’s not the nose you have to worry about, but the other end of the car which is, in the modern parlance, super pointy.

It is not like a Ferrari Pista that will drift and drift and drift – its open differential sees to that. Instead it rewards those who seek to drive it smoothly with devastating pace. Think four seconds a lap quicker than the hardly sedentary 720S and only 2.5 slower than the downforce-laden Senna. But make no mistake, if you are casual with it, it may well make you busier than you care to be. 

On a warm dry track I loved it, and I’m amazed it gives so little to the Senna yet comes with luggage space and, I’m told, reasonable on-road ride and refinement, which I hope to judge for myself shortly. On a cold wet circuit, I imagine it could be a different proposition. But I report as I find, which is a car I enjoyed driving more than the Senna, yet costing not much more than one third the price. A triumph, in other words.

McLaren 765LT

Engine: 3994cc. V8, twin-turbo
Transmission: 7-speed dual clutch, RWD
Power: 755bhp @ 7500rpm
Torque: 590lb ft @ 5500rpm
Weight: 1339kg (Kerb, DIN)

Power-to-weight ratio: 563bhp/tonne
0-62mph: 2.8 seconds
Top speed: 205mph (limited)
Price: £280,000

Ti rating: 9/10