McLaren 765LT Spider: logical consequence

McLaren 765LT Spider
Logical consequence

McLaren 765LT Spider

© press-inform – the press office

The McLaren 765LT Spider is super fun, even without a balaclava. And not just on the racetrack.

The McLaren logic is simple and consistent. First comes a super sports car, then the spider and then the game repeats itself with the “long tail” variant. So the versions with a longer tail, which are even more suitable for the racetrack than the regular versions. The formula is: strength plus less weight results in performance. The curb weight of the McLaren 765LT Spider is 1,278 kilograms, making the dovetail athlete a whole 80 kilograms lighter than the 720S Spider. Combined with the 563 KW / 765 PS of the four-liter V8 biturbo, this results in a ratio of 457 kW / 622 PS per ton. After 2.8 seconds, 100 km / h are reached and the 765LT continues to run up to 330 km / h. With that one or the other Italian topless competitor can be overtaken.

Basically, the McLaren technicians operate on the principle of “never touch a running system” for each of their vehicles. So they use the carbon monocoque and engine, tinker with the lightweight long tail racer around it and then spice up the vehicle with a few extras. For example, on the 765LT, the brakes from the hyper-athlete McLaren Senna apply and ensure that the Spider stops after 110 meters at a speed of 200 km / h. The Senna also helps with the diet: If you want, you can have the carbon bucket seats, which weigh just 3.35 kilograms, fitted. When it comes to the unsprung masses, engineers are particularly fond of planing away material, as this contributes directly to the agility: the four wheels, including aluminum rims, are 22 kilograms lighter than the 720S. The titanium exhaust system weighs just 10.9 kilograms and saves more than 40 percent in weight compared to a steel version, plus thinner discs. Wherever there is, the McLaren technicians pack carbon elements onto the car and reduce the weight: the front apron, sills, diffuser and the larger adaptive rear wing are made of composite material. In total, the front apron saves 1.2 kilograms and at the rear it is 4.9 kilograms.

In the transmission, which shifts 15 percent faster than that of the 720S Spider, lightweight materials from Formula 1 are used. This does not end the diet. The applications in the doors are also lighter and the optimized lithium-ion battery saves another three kilograms and is lighter than the previous energy storage device. The McLaren 765LT Spider comes as standard without air conditioning and sound system. You don’t need the latter anyway. As soon as the rear window is lowered with the roof closed, the sonorous, seething eight-ender fills the passenger cell with its full sound.

Now it’s the first acid test and it’s not without it. The Circuito de Navarra is a demanding playground for the fastest time hunter. In racing jargon, an asphalt track is sometimes described as a “technical course”. The almost four kilometer long route offers curves with different radii, those that close and others whose apex you can’t even see when turning. Every weakness is mercilessly exposed here. The McLaren 765 LT Spider cannot be disturbed by these requirements. Then there is the electro-hydraulic steering, which is one of the best control systems currently found in automobiles. Especially if you allow the rear more freedom with the “Variable Drift Control”, you have a lot of fun with the McLaren 765LT Spider. Pole position isn’t necessarily there, but drifting through the corners is a lot of fun. As soon as you get the ideal setting for chasing the best time, the open-top McLaren 765LT is also in top form. It’s impressive how the McLaren literally bites into every corner and jumps out again with brutal speed.

The technicians have modified the chassis to match the Spider, where the center of gravity is a little higher and further back, and the rear dampers have been set a little harder. The front dampers harden as soon as the front end begins to roll and wobble. “When setting up the 765LT Spider, we spent more time on the road than on the racetrack,” reveals chief engineer James Warner. The extra shifts were worth it. The open version of the potent long-tail McLaren is so comfortable that even longer stretches of the motorway can be completed with a big grin on your face. Thanks to the maximum torque of 800 Newton meters, you don’t have to pedal the athlete all the time, and the seven-speed dual clutch transmission automatically adapts to this relaxed forward thrust. As soon as you arrive, the doors swing high and you can peel yourself out of your seats without twisting. The price? 369,000 euros.

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