Drag racing often heralds absolutely insane vehicles that are capable of savagely devouring tarmac. This year’s TX2K21 event saw the world’s fastest McLaren 765LT earn its stripes in the quarter-mile; Brooks Weisblat of DragTimes showcased the accomplishment in a recent YouTube video. 

It always seems that the team behind this 765LT always improves every time they return to the race track. This weekend was no different, as they set a new world record for the quickest McLaren – putting down an 8.793 second run in the quarter-mile at 158 mph (254 km/h).

Contrary to many other vehicles at the event, the McLaren features a number of small modifications that pack a big punch. The twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 from the standard car now puts out 930 bhp (694 kilowatts) at the wheels thanks to a tune by M Engineering, new downpipes, and MS109 race fuel. Thanks to its rear-wheel-drive layout, the rubber meets the road via a set of Toyo R888R tyres – yes, these are the same tyres used on the Hoonicorn.

The 765LT produced a relatively easy victory in round one going up against a similarly tuned McLaren 720S. While the race didn’t look all that close at the end, there was only a tenth of a second separating the duo. Unfortunately, round two was a much different story, as the winner of round one was pitted against an all-wheel-drive 1,400 bhp (1,044 kilowatt) Sheepey Race Audi R8. Rather unsurprisingly, even the fastest McLaren in the world couldn’t beat the Audi – which might have also been running bias-ply tyres.

Semantics aside, seeing these high-horsepower cars leap off the line was a victory in itself. Drag racing often gets a bad rap in the world of motorsport for being too simplistic, but this video clearly shows that there’s much more than meets the eye when it comes to keeping these beasts in between the lines.