McLaren goes retro with £255,000 'Can-Am' special edition 650S

McLaren’s Special Ops division has been rummaging around in its carbon fibre toybox again, creating a 50th birthday present to some of the most insane racing cars in motorsport history.

This is the rather stunning 650S Can-Am. You probably want one.

Limited to just fifty examples worldwide – all drop-top 650S Spiders – the Can-Am gets a full carbon roof and bonnet panel combo, along with a carbon airbrake, rear bumper…look, all of the carbon fibre, basically.

It rides on a bespoke set of forged alloys too, shod in Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres, and held on with titanium wheelbolts. Yup, there’s quite a lot of attention to detail going on here. Naturally there are carbon-ceramic brakes tucked in there too.

But don’t just assume this is a 650S that’s had a few option boxes ticked. There’s more. The new cheese graters atop the Can-Am’s front wheelarches vent turbulent air from inside the wheelhouses, much like the gills Porsche fitted to the latest 911 GT3 RS.

And, round the back, McLaren’s wedged four tailpipes, as a tasty nod to the Can-Am racecars’ trumpet carburetors.

Which brings us neatly to the old-timers. Can-Am, in its 1960s and 1970s heyday, was a Stateside racing series where the cream of European racing teams went head-to-head with the Americans, creating lightweight, open-top go-karts from hell.

In qualifying trim, these supermini-sized bullets developed upwards of 1000bhp. All of which coursed through the rear wheels, unrestrained by infant aerodynamic knowledge and archaic tyre technology. No ‘fuel saving’ or ‘traction control’ in those days.

McLaren’s founder, Bruce McLaren, raced in Can-Am. McLaren as a team won five straight championships between 1967 and 1971. Alongside its shock 1995 Le Mans victory and many F1 wins (remember those?) Can-Am is woven into the fabric of McLaren’s history.

And, as next spring will mark a half-century since the first race in the series, McLaren’s broken out the party poppers and created this 650S tribute act. Which, we regret to inform you, does not develop in excess of 1000bhp in qualifying trim.

Still, the regular old 641bhp from McLaren’s familar 3.8-litre bi-turbo V8 ought to be adequate, right? It’ll still push the 650S along to 204mph, and crack 62mph in 3.0 seconds. Suppose that’ll have to do.

So, with the engine tune locked in, only a Spider bodystyle on offer, and more carbon fibre than Ron Dennis’s bathroom furniture, there’s really only one choice left to make. For your £255,580, would you take your 650S Can-Am in Mars Red (as pictured with the classic M1B racer), Papaya Spark orange, or Onyx Black?