Here is McLaren's 710bhp 650S replacement – the 720S

Making its world debut in Geneva is the 720S coupe, the new entry model in the British supercar brand’s heartland – its Ferrari 488 GTB fighter – and a precursor to a new family of cars, all with at least 710bhp (720ps), to fly the British supercar flag for the next five years.

The 720S is different in design, construction, materials (aluminium body instead of composite), engine, suspension, aero and electronics from the previous Super Series models, which grew from the debut MP4-12C in 2011 through the 650S to the 675 Longtail which bowed out last year, 7,000 Super Series cars later.

Consequently, the 720S is 91 per cent new, with 1,300 changed parts over the 650S, and 41 per cent changed parts in the bi-turbo V8 which appears here for the first time in 4.0-litre form. The aim is to put clear daylight between Sport and Super Series by introducing a new design language and expanding the dynamic breadth to incorporate the refinement of the 570GT on one hand and the visceral excitement of the 675LT on the other. The 720S promises the broadest range of abilities of all McLarens – whether it be as a daily commuter, a weekend away machine or potent track weapon.

Here’s GRR’s walk-round the new 212mph supercar from Woking…

Design

The dimensions may not have changed much, despite the stiffer, stronger, lighter new Monocage II carbon tub now at the centre of things, but the look certainly has. You won’t be mistaking the 720S for any of the first-gen Super Series models. 

Out goes the notchback and buttresses mid-engined look, in comes a teardrop cabin with slender pillars and glass all the way round, in the manner of a jet fighter canopy. With engine set 120mm lower in the chassis there’s now room behind the seats for a parcel shelf like the 570GT, though with no opening glass window.

In profile, the surfaces are heavily sculpted but at first sight, it appears there’s something missing. Ever since the Lamborghini Miura, rear air intakes – scoops, slats, ducts, grilles, pods et al – have dominated the area ahead of the rear wheels and been as much mid-engined design motif as necessary breathing apparatus. The 720S doesn’t need them for breathing so… they’ve gone. It’s very much in keeping with the McLaren imperative of the design telling the story of the car’s function without embellishment or “jewellery”.

Also ditched are the old model’s scissor doors, replaced by dihedral gullwing-style jobs, still hinged from the front but taking half the roof section with them for superior entry and access – as well as less risk of the doors getting crunched in low and narrow car parks. They require less space when open.

At the rear, the 720S has a more familiar McLaren look with obvious P1 influences. The body’s trailing edge, above the thin line of LEDs and twin central exhausts, is actually the rear wing, totally integrated into the bodywork. It rises up at speed and automatically changes its angle of attack – at maximum, it operates as an air brake. 

Narrow, tapering grilles effectively define the area between fuselage and glasshouse and provide heat-soak vents for the engine. The channels line up with ducts in the double-skin doors, only visible up close when you drop your hand in to find the touch-sensitive door handle. 

If the 720S has the graceful proportions of a McLaren and the striking rear end of one, head-on it presents a different face to the world, one not immediately McLaren.

Gone is the distinctive swirl of lights and intakes echoing the McLaren emblem, and in comes “eye sockets” (Rob Melville’s description) above a horizontal section of body with wide black intake and splitter below. It’s a design that illustrates Rob’s desire to make the car appear as low and as wide as possible.

The eye sockets are interesting. They look like they might have plexiglass over but are in fact open, with floating blades of LEDs separating upper and lower sections. They are open for a good reason: they are a key part of how the aerodynamics work. 

Aero

McLaren is not so far quoting drag coefficients or downforce, just that the 720S increases downforce by 50 per cent over the 650S while also improving engine cooling by 15 per cent. Overall the new car is said to be twice as aerodynamically efficient as its predecessor.

You’d have to say it doesn’t appear like that from seeing the car. There is little overtly “aero” about it. But this is one car you have to get up really close to see the genius of the aerodynamics. The key? Capturing clean, high energy air and using it to best effect. Normally headlights and doors don’t play a big role in achieving this, but here they do.

The open eye sockets are air inlets which have the dual role of providing cooling air for the low-temperature radiators mounted behind them and also taking clean air through ducting in the double-skinned doors to the rear high-temp radiators.

Think of these door channels as side pods on a racing car. “We looked at Can-Am cars and Le Mans cars and the ways in which they keep high energy air attached to the body,” says Rob Melville. “We went with this design language for good reason – it works.” Channelling cooling air through the doors like this means traditional exposed air intakes are not needed.

Drivetrain

The biturbo V8 in new 4.0-litre form has more power, more torque – the same in lb ft as the 650S had in Nm, at 678 – and sits 120mm lower in the new Monocage II carbon tub.

Forty per cent of the engine is said to be new, with the engine’s stroke increased for the extra 200cc. There’s a 70bhp increase over the 3.8 engine in the 650S. At 720PS (710bhp) the new car has a 150bhp buffer to the most potent Sports Series model and outpowers the Ferrari 488GTB by 50 horses. 

For the first time all the software for the seven-speed dual clutch transmission has been written in-house, and this, along with slightly less weight and significantly more torque, has the desired effect on performance, shaving a tenth off the 650S’s 0-62mph time (for 2.9secs) and 4secs off the 0-186mph (300km/h) time (21.4secs).

Chassis

To go with the new aero package and the new lower centre of gravity conferred by the Monocage II tub, the 720S gets largely all-new suspension, though still with McLaren’s trademark hydraulically-interlinked dampers at each corner that remove the need for anti-roll bars, a key reason why Super Series cars have always ridden so brilliantly.

Wishbones, uprights, geometry and control systems are all new and bespoke for the 720S. Results? 16kg unsprung weight saving and, asserts the firm, six per cent pure mechanical grip from the Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres. Super lightweight forged alloys further reduce unsprung mass by 12.5kg.

There are also more electronics for the proactive chassis control system, enhancing the adjustable roll stiffness and damping functions. As before there are comfort, sport and track modes; new is a drift function operated easily via slider control that varies the amount of stability control intervention from maximum to none. As before there is no limited-slip diff, instead McLaren’s electronic Brake Steer system ensures optimum traction. 

The steering is faster reacting than the 650S and the brakes promise to be simply awesome: carbon-ceramic discs 390mm up front and 380mm at the rear are clamped by six-piston callipers with impressive results, stopping 6m shorter than a 650S from 124mph. 

Interior

The doors have been pushed out slightly and the dashboard downwards for what chief designer Melville says is a more open-plan cabin with no distractions. As well as giving an impression of more space, there is actually a little more room than the 650S. 

Control systems and layout show the familiar McLaren focus, with more substance (machined aluminium knobs instead of plastic), all the expected craftsmanship…and a nice Thunderbirds touch with the instrument binnacle.

In order to give the driver more visibility for track driving the instrument binnacle pivots down into the already very low-set cowl, providing 5mm more forward view. Essential info (revs, gear, speed) is conveyed in a digital strip in the binnacle’s top edge. It can be set to fold down automatically when you select race mode, but can also be used for road driving, the info shown being the legal minimum required.

It’s a clever and possibly expedient solution to one thing McLaren has never had: a head-up display.

Range

The 720S is the first new Super Series variant but far from the last; we can expect a whole family of models over the next few years.

The Spider will probably be first to appear next year (the 570S Spider is this year’s new convertible model). The 720S Spider promises to be an interesting looking car since it will need a different structure; the Monocage II is based on the P1 tub and has an upper section to it not automatically conducive to a convertible top.

After the sell-out success of the 675LT (Longtail), an LT version of the new-gen car is a cert, complete with power hike and new number: 750LT… 775LT maybe? Other specials, GT3 race versions, track-day heroes and MSO bespoked cars are all a given.

McLaren Automotive chief Mike Flewitt is in no doubt about the new car’s arrival: “Super Series is the core of the McLaren business and the new Super Series will be absolutely true to McLaren’s pioneering spirit in being a revolutionary leap forwards, both for our brand and the supercar segment.”

First drives are likely to be in Rome with track work on the Vallelunga circuit. After its Geneva show debut orders will be taken and first deliveries should commence almost immediately… certainly in plenty of time for a UK dynamic debut at the Festival of Speed.