If you’re going to get the best out of any McLaren, you’re going to need a bit of space.
It was a sound decision by the manufacturer, then, to get a trio of offerings down to Yas Marina Circuit for a mini-test, largely to welcome the arrival of the 750S. Just to keep it company, though, the newbie was joined by the Artura and the GT.
The 750S is an upgraded version of the 720S, which itself is no slouch. The new arrival is a 4-litre V8 twin-turbocharged rear-wheel-drive affair.
It is available in two different formats, which McLaren refers to as coupe and spider (the latter term essentially designating it as open-top).
The car has been upgraded in terms of weight (it’s lighter), power train (it’s beefier) and aerodynamics (it’s sleeker).
And, if you want some harder stats to back this up, about a third of the 750S components are either completely new or significantly changed. It’s all an example of McLaren’s performance-based innovation approach.
With regards to the weight, which is evidently crucial in speed attainment, the car is lighter than 1,400kg.
That may not mean much to those who aren’t into hardcore engineering, but this is 30kg less than the 720S. McLaren, as is the way with supercar manufacturers, has achieved this by shaving a few grams off several components.
The carbon-fibre-shelled seats alone are about 17kg lighter than what came before, and the 10-spoke wheels are the most featherweight ever fitted to a production McLaren. Even the windscreen has been made a little more gossamer.
Any McLaren is exhilarating to drive, and the trio we test are no exception. With regards to practical usage, too, they’re some of the best the manufacturer has to offer.
As always, the most noticeable thing is less the initial acceleration (2.8 seconds to 100 kph for the 750S; 3 seconds for the Artura; and 3.2 seconds for the GT), but rather what happens when you hit around 150 kph.
The cars seem to hunker down, almost saying to the driver: “Ready, are you? Then here we go!” Then the second burst of acceleration kicks in to a degree that is sufficient to make even those used to high-speed track motoring take notice.
Looking at the 750S alone, it has a 0 to 200 kph time of a little over seven seconds. You’d think this might make for a rough ride, but that isn’t the case, thanks to McLaren's proactive chassis control linked-hydraulic suspension system.
In short, it means you get a compliant ride, both in terms of comfort and how fast you can get around corners.
All three cars are available in the UAE now, with prices starting at Dh1,425,000 (750S), 1,075,000 (Artura) and Dh985,000 (GT).
