- Unerring steering has the best feedback and feel of any supercar
- Maniacally fast
- Though iterative of the 720S predecessor, it still looks like a spaceship on Earth and has an incredible color palette
- Rather intense (but you knew that already, didn’t you?)
- Though improved, the infotainment experience is still a bit wonky
- You probably can’t afford it. Worse, I can’t afford it.
– Las Vegas, NV
It’s raining. I’m near Las Vegas, the second-driest metro area in the United States, to drive a 740-horsepower rear-wheel-drive mid-engine supercar that is red in tooth and claw, and it’s raining. Kind of a lot of rain, honestly.
Let me do the cool guy thing and tell you about some “epic” times I’ve had driving a great car in terrible weather.
In 2012 I was tagged to test the new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, that of the 580-hp, supercharged, 6.2-liter V8, at America’s finest road course, Virginia International Raceway. The 4.2-mile Grand Course at VIR is challenging under the driest of circumstances, and on this early spring day, the heavens opened up. I strapped on my helmet, gritted my teeth, and got to work.
Then there was the first drive program for the 2017 Nissan GT-R, featuring a full session at the legendary Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. Legends like Senna, Schumacher, and Clark had triumphed in the rain at Spa piloting fragile formula cars. Emboldened by Godzilla’s all-wheel-drive grip and 21st-century technology, I stuffed my initial apprehensions about the sheets of rain and rivers of water, calmly finished my espresso, and got to work.
Now, let me do the honest guy thing and tell you how those situations really went. On the recon lap at VIR I lost the Camaro coming out of the third corner of the track, then very gently slid off onto the grass before coming to a stop on the retaining wall. They shut down the whole program one lap later (when another journo crashed pretty hard). I didn’t even get to write a story.
I fared better at Spa insofar as I didn’t put the car off the track, but I did spend the day getting absolutely berated by a Belgian club driver. The man (even today I hesitate to call him a “gentleman”) was incensed by my lack of exit speed coming out of the tricky complex of turns 13-16, and he openly mocked when I expressed a bit of reluctance due to the vast areas of water running over the track. He didn’t even shake my hand at the end of the session.
Back in Vegas, the McLaren team hadn’t planned for a day-long downpour for their 2024 750S launch event, to be sure – in fact, the company’s photographers managed some pretty stunning weather for their shoot just a few days prior. But it seemed unlikely to provide a venue to rival my thrilling rain drives of years past. The route consisted of a half-day drive out into the canyons, parks, and desert surrounding the city, followed by some track time on a small infield course at Las Vegas Speedway. Chicken soup compared to getting barked at in French around a watery hellscape. Or so I thought.
An enticingly colored lineup of new McLarens was staged outside a paddock at the Speedway to start our morning. In candy-coated shades of blue, turquoise, and purple, the big-eyed, wind-sculped form of the supercar looked spectacular. The 750S is the successor to the highly regarded 720S, and for better or worse, it takes an enthusiast of the brand to spot the differences between the two models from the front of the car (though both are hot as hell).
Move to the rear view and the changes are obvious. The 720’s dual exhaust outlets are separated by perhaps a foot and a half, flanking the McLaren badge just above the bumper. On the new car, the twin exhausts have been relocated to the center of the car, surrounded by an expansive honeycomb rear grille.
Though I do prefer the look of the new tailpipe location, what I really enjoyed was the revamped exhaust sound. One small bummer about the 720S was a muted aural experience when pushing the revs, and the engineering team took note for this new car. Right out of the parking lot and onto an open road, my first tentative dip into the throttle was met with a satisfying, slightly menacing growl from the backside of the machine.
The added bark was a nice reminder that the car is up 30 hp over the outgoing car, but to be honest I never felt the need to complain about 710 hp. Opening the throttle for even a heartbeat is met with a jolt of acceleration that’s almost shocking the first time around. Behind my head is a re-tuned version of the same twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 I’ve sampled before in the 720S, but it takes a few miles to recalibrate my brain to the responsiveness and sheer aggression of the power delivery. McLaren reckons the car is good for a 2.7-second 0-60 time, though that might be sandbagging by a few tenths.
I’m not doing any full-speed runs from a standstill on wet, oily desert roads, that’s for sure. But as I settle into cautiously exploring the available power, I’m relieved to note that the steering is up to McLaren’s world-class standards. The British brand has stuck with a hydraulically assisted power steering setup, which helps to provide the kind of unparalleled road feel you’d like to have when getting feisty on some wet canyon roads in someone else’s $332K (base) supercar. Steering response is ultra fast – the 750S adopts the quicker steering ratio from the 675LT – with great weighting, so even on low-grip surfaces it’s easy to build confidence about the levels of grip available, second to second.
It doesn’t take long, as I navigate out of the Vegas outskirts and onto the winding Route 167 that skirts Lake Mead to the north, to fall deeply in love with this car. I’ve got Comfort, Sport, and Track drive modes to play with, each modulating engine, transmission, and suspension settings, but mostly stick with the least-aggressive Comfort considering the weather and the sometimes unexpectedly rippled roads. The adjustable setup doesn’t matter nearly as much as the overall feeling of lightness and precision – the 750S is supposedly 66 pounds lighter than the 720S, at best, but it feels like a diet of hundreds. I’ve driven plenty of McLaren products over the years, but the scalpel-like feel of this car puts it instantly in the Best Car I Ever Drove discussion.
Not every moment is glorious. The rain lightens up a bit as I get into the empty Valley of Fire area, and use the opportunity to turn some pretty fast corners and get at least a sense of the incredible grip. I’ve no doubt that the car is utterly stuck to the ground on dry pavement. Back behind the wheel after stopping to grab some photos, I really boot the throttle on the wide-open road. The rear end of the car flicks out wide on the wet asphalt, my heart rate spikes, and for a nanosecond I can hear the mean Belgian down-dressing me for inartful throttle application. Thank god I’m able to catch the slide and carry on, mostly pointed straight ahead, towards the lunch stop. Great steering feel is a safety feature, I’ll tell you what…
Later in the afternoon, back at the speedway, my track drive with the 750S is hilariously flooded out of relevance. Unlike in the Camaro I avoid any off-piste adventures (I don’t even touch a cone, thank you very much), but the infield course is so wet that I’m just braking, sliding, and laughing lap after lap. I don’t know if a real 750S owner is less likely to drive their car on the track or in the rain, but suffice it to say I feel like a one-percenter doing both in a single day.
In any event, the stunning performance of McLaren’s newest halo car in adverse conditions is a testament to its capability and beautiful engineering. The 750S is not only a showpiece for any collector, it’s a driving enthusiast’s dream: approachable, explicable, and rewarding despite its sky-high performance limits. And, I suspect, a story to remember with each drive, rain or shine.
Base Price: $329,500 incl. $5,500 Destination
As-Tested Price: $360,000
Engine: Twin-Turbocharged 4.0-Liter V8
Output: 740 Horsepower / 590 Pound-Feet
Transmission: Seven-Speed Dual-Clutch
Drive: Rear-Wheel
EPA Fuel Economy: 15 City / 19 Highway / 17 Combined
0-60 MPH: 2.7 Seconds
Top Speed: 206 Miles per Hour
Weight: 3,062 Pounds
Seating: 2
Cargo Capacity: 5.3 / 7.4 Cubic Feet
