- McLaren's LT cars are a callback to the company's exclusive F1 Longtail supercars from the 1990s.
- The $388,000 McLaren 765LT has a monstrous 755 horsepower, and I drove it around London recently.
- I learned that the car's greatest weakness — not being ideal for the street — is also its greatest strength.
Throughout its history, McLaren Automotive has found a way to mix technology, comfort, and otherworldly speed with ease. It allows regular drivers to experience cutting-edge supercar tech and not worry that it'll spit them off the road, unless they opt to turn all the safety systems off and poke it with a stick.
The $388,000 McLaren 765LT is a different animal. Even in its most inert setting, it's wild, unhinged, loud, and ridiculous. It belongs on a dry track somewhere hot, without any obstacles or inclement weather.
Instead, I drove one in London — and I had things to do.
McLaren's LT cars are a hark back to its famous Longtail F1 cars from the 1990s. Modern LTs are lighter, more driver focused, less huggy machines than the cars they're based on. The 765LT Spider is a McLaren with the gloves off and barbed wire taped to its forehead.
The 765LT has a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 engine with 755 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. With the car's seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive, you can hit 62 mph from rest in 2.8 seconds. From there, you can hit 124 mph in 7.2 seconds and top out at 205 mph.
The 765LT's signature dihedral doors open upwards, and its roof takes 11 seconds to fold away with the push of a keyfob. McLaren gave me a quick demo and driving lesson before turning the keys over, because it knows the 765LT Spider is a bit of a handful. It was enough to let me know to treat it with caution.
On the highway to London, roof down, the car's outrageous purple hue drew eyes. Kids' faces lit up, while parents pretended to be disinterested. Its V8 comes attached to a titanium exhaust system, which makes it sound wonderfully aggressive — find a tunnel and pin the gas pedal to the floor for pops and crackles — but it can be a bit of a drone on the highway.
Riding through the city's lumpy roads, I had the drive mode set to "comfort." Its fixed carbon bucket seats can be a little jarring, since they leave little room for anything other than locking your body in place and keeping your hands on the wheel.
The 765LT Spider isn't the most comfortable a McLaren's ever felt, but considering it's as hardcore as they get, it was pleasant.
What I didn't expect was to be able to hear quite so much of the car itself. In order to cut all the extra weight, things like carpets were taken out. The side effect is not only a quicker car, but mechanical noises. You can hear the car's innards do their thing. It's peculiar, but it offers a refreshing honesty.
In the city, its 755 horsepower seems a little lost. You can get to the speed limit awfully quick, but the car begs you to take it further — even if pressing on its pedals would result in losing your license in seconds. The LT's automatic transmission is smooth when you ask it to be, both when it's shifting itself and when you're pulling its tactile shift paddles.
You'd expect a car like this — one with a wide rear and not too much rear visibility — to be a nightmare to navigate around tight spaces, but it isn't at all. The wing mirrors do a good job, as does the backup camera.
A car like the 765LT Spider will probably spend most of its life as it did with me: being paraded through built up areas having its picture taken. But to have it for a short time and not go exploring in the countryside is a crime, so I headed toward the coast.
Drive mode set to "Sport" (because "Track" is too rough for the real world), the Spider felt incredible. Nailing the gas caused the car to pick up pace with gusto.
The whole car feels light, gliding to ludicrous speeds without issue. However, if you don't treat it with the respect it deserves — like being gentle with its hair-trigger gas pedal — it can catch you unaware. When that happens, the rear wheels skate around.
When the speeds get high, you have to handle it with care. If not, it feels like it'll bite rather hard.
The brakes, a McLaren strong point, are incredible. That's partly thanks to pedal feel, but also the active aerodynamics. The spoiler slices through the air at high speeds, but when you need to stop in a hurry, it'll lift itself to an angry, almost vertical angle and essentially become a sail.
With sport mode engaged, the gearbox and suspension are more ferocious. Lumps and bumps make themselves known.
McLaren nailed the steering feel on the car as well. It's smooth, perfectly weighted, and better than most. You'll likely only find better steering in a Lotus race car or track-prepped special.
While driving the 765LT, it only tried to bite me once or twice with seemingly little provocation. That is, until I was taking it back to McLaren's headquarters in Woking, Surrey. As I left my house, gently accelerating to the speed limit, the rear decided it would rather be anywhere other than where it was.
Had I been too harsh with it? I don't expect so. But a "lesser" McLaren probably wouldn't behave quite like that.
That brings us to the 765LT Spider's biggest failing, but also its greatest strength: It's meant for a track — or at least a big, wide, warm road with plenty of space. To try and wrangle it in town to show off is a foolish, if fun, endeavor, but less harsh McLarens will be far kinder to regular mortals.
The 765LT's ability is beyond almost every road car. It's something truly skilled drivers will make the most out of with ease — and they probably won't do it running to the store for milk.
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