2018 McLaren 720S & 765LT

Watch them build a full-sized McLaren - in Lego!

It took a team of dedicated Lego fanatics (Legotists?) 2000 man-hours to build this full-sized replica of a McLaren 720S, which was on display at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Starting from a solid platform with a welded metal frame to fix the wheelbase and support the weight of the 280 000 Lego bricks - about 1600 kilograms, a quarter of a ton more than the actual car - McLaren's six modelmakers built an intricate spaceframe, using only the little plastic bricks, to support the body panels - echoing the ‘superleggera’ technique used by top Italian coachbuilders to create unique cars.

The final 12 700 bricks were assembled while the model was on display at the festival, with members of the public allowed to help place the bricks for a small donation to the official Goodwood charity.

Raising the bar

Their efforts raised £2700 (R47 200) for the fund - as well as raising the bar as to just what can be achieved with the little Danish mouldings that have taught generations of children the principles of engineering design without them even realising they were in school.

To give us some idea of just what went into it, McLaren used time-lapse photography to compress the whole project into 59 seconds. You’ll want to watch this video at least twice, to catch all the details.

http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/industry-news/watch-them-build-a-full-sized-mclaren---in-lego-10670445

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https://youtu.be/qgpLKJby6XM
 
Stock McLaren 720S Pushes 800 HP At The Crank

The McLaren 720S is one hell of a force to be reckoned with considering it is faster around specific circuits than the mighty P1.

Under the carbon skin sits a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 which according to McLaren delivers 710 hp (530 kW). A recent dyno test suggests that McLaren were very conservative with the power claims.

Three different runs on the dyno revealed 694 hp, 696 hp and 698 hp at the rear wheels which is averaging 530 kW.

Taking into account a 15 per cent drivetrain loss for the rear-wheel supercar, this could mean the new McLaren actually produces around 800 hp (596 kW) at the crank, even more than the Ferrari 812 Superfast is claimed to deliver.

http://www.zero2turbo.com/2017/08/stock-mclaren-720s-pushes-800-hp-crank.html
 
One-off McLaren 720S by MSO revealed at Pebble Beach

Striking 720S has been commissioned by a car collector in completely bespoke form and produced by McLaren Special Operations

A one-off McLaren 720S has been revealed, created for renowned car collector Michael Fux, who built a multimillion-pound business empire around the sale of memory foam mattresses after arriving in the US from Cuba penniless aged 15.

Fux has a collection of around 130 luxury and supercars, many of which are finished in bespoke and often garish colour schemes. These include 25 Ferraris, 12 Porsches, 11 Aston Martins and six Rolls-Royces, plus a McLaren 12C, 12C Spider and P1, finished in orange, purple and green respectively. He is famed in the US for his philanthropic exploits, including raising money for charities by displaying his cars.

His McLaren - created by the firm’s bespoke McLaren Special Operations (MSO) division - is in keeping with Fux’s penchant for eye-catching designs and features a fuchsia-coloured paint finish and white leather interior. The exterior colour is named Fux Fuchsia and was originally created by Rolls-Royce for him before being redeveloped by MSO for the McLaren.

Other details include using the fuchsia colouring on the wheels and inside the doors as a pinstripe on the steering wheel and the rear-view mirror. Elsewhere, white dominates, from the leather to the stitching. The exhaust and window surrounds are finished in grey and some areas of the car are highlighted with a carbonfibre finish.

No mechanical changes have been made, so it is powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 like other 720S cars, sending 710bhp to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

The car was presented to Fux by McLaren Automotive boss Mike Flewitt at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. No price was revealed, although it is likely to have been substantially more than the £218,020 charged for 720S in Luxury spec. Based on previous bespoke commissions, the modifications are expected to have cost around half the price of the car again.

Notably, MSO grew revenue by 143% last year, underlining the booming demand among high-end buyers to finish their cars with one-off flourishes.

“MSO provides McLaren owners with virtually limitless possibilities to tailor a car exactly to their needs and tastes - there are opportunities from unique paint colours and finishes all the way up to complete vehicles designed to individual specification,” said Jolyon Nash, McLaren Automotive’s executive director for global sales and marketing.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/...ce/one-mclaren-720s-mso-revealed-pebble-beach

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One-off McLaren 720S revealed at Dubai motor show

Gold-on-black 720S pays tribute to Bruce McLaren, with his famous quote showing on the rear spoiler

McLaren has revealed its latest McLaren Special Operations (MSO) one-off - a black and gold 720S bearing founder Bruce McLaren’s words on the rear spoiler.

Created for a customer and on display at the Dubai motor show, this MSO 720S is finished in satin black paintwork with gold highlights across the interior and exterior. This includes a 24-carat gold engine heat shield and gold-painted wheels. Exterior upgrades replace the front splitter, air intakes, rear bumper and roof with carbonfibre units.

Inside, the gearshift paddles, centre band to the steering wheel and door trim are finished in gold, although a carbonfibre steering wheel, sill panels and fascia vents carry the exterior theme to the interior.

Bruce McLaren’s quote “Life is measured in achievement, not in years alone” is emblazoned on the rear spoiler of the car in Arabic, stylised to resemble the Dubai skyline. On the inside, a plaque identifies the car’s one-off MSO status.

Customising the car from a standard 720S took more than 120 hours, with 30 of those spent on the rear spoiler alone. Aside from the colour and interior trim customisations, the car is unchanged over the standard 720S. This means power of 710bhp from McLaren’s turbocharged 4.0-litre V8, a top speed of 212mph and a 0-62mph time of 2.8sec.

McLaren’s last MSO project, two MSO R cars based on the 675LT, were sold to one customer. One is a coupé, the other a convertible. Perhaps the most famous MSO car, however, is the fuchsia pink 720S created for car collector Michael Fux.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/one-mclaren-720s-revealed-dubai-motor-show

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New McLaren 720S GT3 racer lands with major motorsport push

Woking car maker is opening 10 retail locations for its racing machines and a new GT series

McLaren is using the reveal of its new 720S GT3 racing car as a catalyst for a major expansion in its global motorsport reach.

The Woking car maker’s new racer will begin track testing in 2018 before being eligible for competition with customer teams in 2019.

It will pick up from the 650S GT3, which has garnered four titles including the Australian GT Championship and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup since it succeeded the 12C GT3, becoming McLaren Automotive’s top racing model.

Power will come from a race-prepared version of the road 720S’s M840T twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8, driving the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential gearbox.

Race-spec bodywork and adjustable dampers with coilover springs are bespoke to the racer, although the Monocage II structure is shared with the road model.

The 720S GT3’s arrival also signals the launch of a new McLaren Automotive motorsport dealer network. McLaren Glasgow will be the first of 10 international retailers across Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region offering the brand’s competition cars.

Alongside its new retailer network, McLaren Automotive is also following Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini by launching its own one-make racing series. The McLaren-GT racing series kicks off next year and will feature its 570S GT4.

These less highly strung competition models will compete on European circuits, with Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps the first to be confirmed for the calendar. The series will be operated in an ‘arrive and drive’ format.

Additionally, McLaren Automotive is investing in four drivers via its newly formed Driver Development Programme, which is tasked with finding and nurturing future GT racing talent. Young hopefuls Jordan Albert, Charlie Fagg, Michael O’Brien and Lewis Proctor will be mentored by Rob Bell, McLaren’s factory GT driver, and compete in 570S GT4 racers from next year.

McLaren’s racing expansion falls under its road car arm, McLaren Automotive, which recently became the McLaren Group’s largest division with 2100 employees. The company’s Formula 1 programme is handled by McLaren Racing.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/...en-720s-gt3-racer-lands-major-motorsport-push

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Tested: McLaren 720S rocks our quarter-mile chart

It took just 10.31 seconds for the McLaren P1 to cruise to the No.1 spot in our popular Quarter Mile Kings chart back in 2014, and four long years for another car to come along and wrestle its crown away.

Lo and behold, another McLaren finally moved into the P1 spot (pun intended) when the newer and less powerful 720S dismissed the 402.3 metres in 10.29 seconds at the Gerotek test track last week. It’s the slimmest of margins between them, but when we’re talking about the fastest cars in the world, every hundredth of a second counts, and at this end of the scale those fractions are hard to come by.

Wait, did you say less powerful? Yip, the 720S makes only 427kW and 770Nm to the P1’s 673 and 900. But remember, that was a hybrid hypercar and with all its complex batteries and electric motors it pays a 215kg weight penalty over 1283kg model on test here.

Still, McLaren hasn’t exactly been stingy with luxury features in the 720S and while an ultra-light carbon chassis and superformed aluminium body shell do well to offset the weight added by soft-close doors, a suspension lift system, up to 12 speakers and a motorised instrument panel which cleverly flips around depending on drive mode, we can’t help but wonder if one extra USB port would have meant the difference between first and second place in our list. For what it’s worth, our test car was fitted with R80 000 optional Superlight alloy wheels. Responsible for .02 seconds? Possibly.

Getting back to the power, the 720S dishes up its hardly insignificant outputs with gut-twisting thrusts in all seven gears. The mid-mounted four-litre V8’s two turbochargers spin up quickly, and when they do the peripheral scenery blurs like warp speed in the Starship Enterprise. Full throttle will take your breath away, and you’ll have to fight hard against the G-forces pulling your hands from the wheel and foot from the gas pedal.

Launch control is a simple process, and from any of its many drive modes (we used full Track) a simple press of a button engages the system. Floor the throttle and brake, note the digital cluster’s readout “Building Boost”, release brake, and hold on for dear life as the mid-engined, rear-drive machine heaves itself off the line. The 720S also scooped our fastest ever 0-100km/h test with a time of 2.85 seconds.

Its exhaust note might be a bit short on character, but you can’t blame McLaren’s engineers for focussing more on performance than superficial growls and gurgles. It’s strictly business back there. There are some nice chirps from the wastegates though, and with each throttle lift you get some faint giggles emanating from behind your head, reminiscent of old-era Group B rally cars. Lovely.

The 720S is McLaren’s flagship supercar until the P15 Senna arrives late this year, but where that car will undoubtedly be a pure road-legal race car hell bent on lap times, the 720S is relatively speaking quite a comfy place to spend time in. Sure, with its settings cranked up to full attack it’ll pull your eyelids back, but set to Comfort it hovers along relatively well on its 19 inch front and 20 inch rear low profile rubber. I also happened to glance at the rev-counter at 140-ish on the highway, and in seventh gear it ticks along calmly at around 1500rpm.

McLaren’s interior quality has progressed immensely from the first MP4-12C, and instead of jiggly door frames, questionable switchgear and fidgety infotainment, you get a very upmarket cabin swathed in quality leathers, racy alcantara and exposed carbonfibre. Iridium silver window switches and door pulls click with precision, there’s a rainbow of subtle mood light choices, and the latest generation Iris multimedia panel with navigation is fairly simple to use.

It’s also far easier to get into and out of, thanks to its swanwing-style doors which offer a huge boarding aperture, and all round visibility from behind the wheel is excellent. Both of these come compliments of the abovementioned carbon Monocage chassis which allows for thinner A-pillars and a central structural spine where the doors hinge.

The 720S starts at the R5.8-million mark, but get carried away with options and this can rocket past seven bar. Our conservatively-specced test car was priced at R6.8-million, including those Superlight wheels. Which are a must have if you’re planning to dice any P1s.

FACTS

Engine:4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8
Gearbox:7-speed automatic
Power:427kW @ 7250rpm
Torque:770Nm @ 5500rpm
0-100km/h (tested):2.85 seconds
Standing quarter-mile (tested):10.29 seconds
Price (as tested):R6 800 000
Warranty:3-year/unlimited distance
Maintenance plan:3-year/unlimited distance

https://www.iol.co.za/motoring/road-tests/tested-mclaren-720s-rocks-our-quarter-mile-chart-13557256
 
Bespoke McLaren 720S Atlantic Blue shown at Geneva

• Unique McLaren Special Operations commission specially for Geneva show
• McLaren extreme performance with an accent on luxury
• Celebrating one year of MSO-crafted second-generation Super Series models

Geneva - Combining the deepest of deep blue paint finishes specially formulated for the car with a classic Saddle Tan leather interior, the McLaren 720S in Atlantic Blue by MSO presents the dynamism of the Super Series according to the automaker

McLaren Special Operations’ latest creation comes a year after MSO’s first bespoke project on the second-generation Super Series, the 720S Velocity by MSO, which was shown in Geneva in 2017.

The Atlantic Blue body provides a fresh interpretation of the ‘shrink-wrapped’ design language introduced for the 720S, which features innovative aerodynamics, smoothly sculpted surfaces and iconic double-hinged dihedral doors.

“Every 720S produced by MSO is elegant and distinctive and a large part of that is because they are different in some way from all the others, with each car a unique expression of the owner’s taste,” commented Ansar Ali, Managing Director of McLaren Special Operations, “At MSO, we celebrate that difference by showing cars like the Atlantic Blue 720S – a world of McLaren possibilities made stunningly real.”

MSO’s hand-crafted artistry is able to fulfil McLaren clients’ most demanding expectations. Its capabilities range from crafting entire one-off cars to providing specific aerodynamic and lightweight componentry, adding functionality and developing the special materials, finishes, colour and trim that are used to such stunning effect by the Atlantic Blue 720S making its debut in Geneva.

Providing the most focused driving experience thanks to innovations in aerodynamics, proactive suspension control, carbon-fibre construction and one of the world’s most potent 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engines, the 530kW 720s can deliver a top speed of 341km/h and despatches 0-62km/h in 2.9 seconds.

You still get heated electric seats, keyless entry, soft-close doors, cruise control, electrically adjustable steering column and advanced climate and connectivity systems are among the standard features.

MSO bespoke elements that take this formula to another level comprise the newly-developed Atlantic Blue paint and an interior swathed in Saddle Tan leather with contrasting Slate Grey stitching. The cockpit is further distinguished by Carbon Black leather and Grey Alcantara accents. Even the floor mats are bespoke.

Setting off the Atlantic Blue paint are Dark Palladium exterior finishes, gloss finish Visual Carbon Fibre, and Zircon window surrounds.

This unique McLaren 720S in Atlantic Blue by MSO carries a price tag of £281 260.

http://www.wheels24.co.za/NewModels/bespoke-mclaren-720s-atlantic-blue-shown-at-geneva-20180308

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This McLaren 720S Is Headed For Auction In South Africa This Weekend

Aucor are holding a “Super Car & High End Furniture Auction” this weekend and this black McLaren 720S will be up for grabs.

Unfortunately at the time of writing, no other information on the car is available but there also seems to be a Ferrari 360 Modena (looking like a Challange Stradale) at the auction too.

I wonder why this car is up for auction so soon after taking delivery and also what it will end up selling for. If you do find out, please get in touch with us.

For more information visit the auction listing here.

https://www.zero2turbo.com/2018/05/this-mclaren-720s-is-headed-for-auction-this-weekend.html

https://aucor.com/auction/supersport-park-super-car-high-end-furniture-auction

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