McLaren 720S

New McLarens seem to be coming thick and fast, the Sports Series range in particular filling up nicely, but above those, the Super Series line-up has been pretty quiet of late. That changed at the Geneva Motor Show this year, where McLaren revealed its new model, the 720S.

The new supercar flagship replaces the 650S and, says McLaren, its limited edition 675LT spin-off - the 720S is actually positioned somewhere in between those two cars.

Both impressed deeply, so the 720S’s task isn’t easy, but McLaren has been on a roll of late, each new model building rather successfully on its predecessor. Looking at the numbers McLaren quotes for the new 720S, it’s difficult not to see that being the case here.

That 720 name gives a none-too-subtle clue as to its output, in hp (710bhp if you’re old school), which comes from a new V8 engine that grows in capacity over its 3.8 predecessor to 4.0 litres. McLaren dubs it the M840T, the T underlining its turbocharged status, and those, like the rest of the engine, are pretty much all-new, sharing very little with the old M838T unit.

Its 720hp doesn’t have a lot of mass to shift, either, McLaren quoting an ultimate, dry weight of 1,283kg, though fill it up with fluids and put a 90 percent fill in the fuel tank and that increases to 1,419kg. That’s still not a lot of weight, especially as the 720hp figure is backed up by 568lb ft of torque, produced at 5,500rpm.

With its roots in Formula One, McLaren’s pace of road car development is extraordi...