2021 McLaren 765LT: The Sensible Senna

Think of the new 765LT as the budget Senna, offering almost all the speed of McLaren's ultimate track car for less than half the price.

It can be hard to keep up with the pace and complexity of McLaren's model program. Many of us find ourselves struggling to list the subtle differences that distinguish what is meant to be the Porsche-fighting Sports Series and the Ferrari-baiting Super Series, especially as all McLaren's roadgoing cars share the same core architecture. And as the carbon-fiber tub, mid-mounted twin-turbo V-8 and dual-clutch transmission are nearly identical in each variant, it's easy to presume that the cars and the driving experiences are equally interchangeable.

Yet that categorically isn't true, as proven by the new 765LT. This car is based on the existing 720S, itself the lightest and quickest machine in its light, quick segment. But the LT has been given increases in both urge and aerodynamic downforce, while also losing a claimed 176 pounds compared to the already svelte 720S. The result is a car that is nearly as fast and exciting as the range-topping Senna, despite costing less than half as much. It's also a much more handsome proposition from every angle.

LT stands for Long Tail, a name that harks back to the race-evolved McLaren F1 GT of 1997 and that has become modern McLaren's way of designating models that are track biased while still being road viable. The 765LT is a successor to both the 2015 675LT and last year's 600LT. Like both earlier cars, it will ultimately spawn a spider version. But following complaints from some 600LT buyers that their cars were not part of a limited run—a strategy that helps protect residual values—765LT coupe production is restricted to, appropriately enough, no more than 765 examples. Around a third of those are expected to come to the United States. Starting at $358,000, it's only slightly more expensive than the 675LT was five years ago.

We've already given you a tech rundown of the new car, with highlights including an increase in engine output to 755 horsepower—enabled by a higher-capacity fuel pump, forged aluminum pistons, and a beefier head gasket. A free-flowing quad-tailpipe titanium exhaust system shaves 8.3 pounds of weight compared to the system on the 720S. Further mass has also been saved with lightweight race seats, ultralight alloy wheels, polycarbonate rear side glazing, and even the removal of interior carpeting. The lightest possible configuration requires buyers to opt to live without air conditioning or infotainment systems, but we'd guess most buyers will keep both (as no-cost options) and live with the 25.3-pound weight penalty. Even with A/C and a stereo, McLaren says the 765LT weighs but 2988 pounds fully fueled.

We suspect many buyers will opt to make their 765LTs fractionally more luxurious than the company's spartan ideal, especially as many of the weight-adding comfort options come free. Plusher sports seats, power adjustment for those and the steering column, parking sensors, a front-axle lift, and even the 12-speaker Bower & Wilkins audio upgrade are all offered at no extra cost in the U.S. Conversely—and perversely—you'll be able to save ounces by paying even more, the option list even including a $1520 "MSO Defined lightweight front badge." More significant extra-cost upgrades include the Senna's skeletal ultra-lightweight carbon seats ($7580) and the uprated brake package that brings the hypercar's more thermally efficient carbon-ceramic rotors in place of the standard carbon discs. That's a pricey $18,030 box to tick, but having experienced the upgraded brakes on a track, we can attest to the benefit.

Our experience of the 765LT was exclusively on the 1.8-mile International layout at the Silverstone circuit in England. (There was meant to be a road-driving element in the original plan, but COVID-19.) While the truncated program denied the chance to assess the new car's abilities in the real world—a shame given how rounded the 600LT's talents are—it did confirm that the 765LT is both outrageously quick and remarkably easy to drive at a high percentage of its abilities.
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