This is the brand new McLaren 765LT Spider

Missed out on the now sold-out McLaren 765LT Coupe? Well we have good news. Behold the McLaren 765LT Spider. Save for the retractable carbon hard-top it is basically identical to the LT Coupe. And you can still buy one – McLaren is building as many Spiders as it did Coupes (765 for the whole world), and they haven’t entirely sold-out. Yet. 

McLaren’s fastest convertible yet uses a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with 765hp (that’s 754bhp in old money) and 590lb ft of torque. The LT Spider claims the same 0-62mph time, 0-124mph time and top speed as the LT Coupe; 2.8 seconds, 7.2 seconds and 205mph respectively. At 1,388kg, it weighs 49kg more than the LT Coupe but 80kg less than a regular 720S Spider. 

Most of that extra weight versus the LT Coupe comes from the one-piece carbon roof - which can be retracted in 11 seconds at speeds of up to 31mph - and its operating mechanism. The rear window can be lowered independently of the roof, so you can better hear the quad-exit titanium exhaust even when it’s raining. McLaren tells us the 765’s carbon-fibre “MonoCage II” structure is so strong, no additional bracing is required for the Spider. 

The LT’s dampers and active aerodynamics were re-tuned for the Spider. We’re promised the “extra dimension of theatre and drama offered by the convertible roof” makes the Spider “an even more immersive and compelling car to drive on the road” than the Coupe on which it’s based. Click on these blue words to read what the 765LT Coupe is like to drive specifically on public roads. Spoiler: it’s… intense. 

Prices start at £310,500 before options (around £30k more than the Coupe). Of which there are many – such as MSO’s Clubsport Pack that “reduces overall weight and increases circuit performance”. Tempted?