CarBrandLogos archive · McLaren · 2017

McLarenMcLaren 720S

Carbon roof structure, eye-socket headlights, performance that embarrassed the class.

Photo: Vauxford · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in McLaren history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the McLaren 720S, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

By 2017 McLaren's Super Series had a reputation for being clinically fast and slightly cold. The 720S was the attempt to keep the first quality and fix the second, and it was a much bigger step than its 650S predecessor had been over the 12C.

McLaren 720S Spider Genf 2019 1Y7A5614 · Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0

McLaren 720S Spider, GIMS 2019, Le Grand-Saconnex

Design and engineering

The key change was structural. Monocage II extended the carbon tub upwards into a full roof structure, which meant the car needed no metal upper frame — that saved weight, allowed dihedral doors cut deep into the roof, and let the glasshouse be almost entirely transparent, including panels in the door recesses and the rear buttresses. Visibility from a mid-engined car has rarely been as good.

McLaren 720S Spider, GIMS 2019, Le Grand-Saconnex · Matti Blume · CC BY-SA 4.0

In production

The engine grew to 4.0 litres and gained significantly in output; the double-wishbone suspension kept the hydraulically linked, anti-roll-bar-free layout. What everyone remembered, though, was the acceleration. In independent testing the 720S posted figures that put it alongside cars costing several times as much, and it did so with the tractability to be driven daily.

2018 McLaren 720S rear, Hagerty 6.1.19 · Kevauto · CC BY-SA 4.0

Legacy

Frank Stephenson and Rob Melville's body divided opinion, particularly the headlight sockets, which are hollowed ducts feeding the low-temperature radiators rather than styling. A Spider followed, along with progressively harder variants, and the 750S took over in 2023 as an evolution rather than a replacement.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2017–2023

Engine

4.0 L M840T twin-turbocharged V8

Designer

Frank Stephenson

Body

2-door coupé

Technical specification

The McLaren 720S, in detail.

Production: 2017–2023 (720S); 2023–present (750S)
Class: Sports car (S)
Body style: 2-door coupé ; 2-door convertible; retractable hard-top convertible (Spider)
Layout: Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
Engine: 4.0 L M840T twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: 7-speed Graziano dual-clutch
Designer: Frank Stephenson ; Rob Melville
Assembly: United Kingdom: Woking, Surrey, England
Manufacturer: McLaren Automotive