Back To The Future
According to received wisdom, supercar ownership is as thrilling as it is painful. Back in the day, supercars, while possessed of rabid performance, tended to be difficult to get in/out of, had terrible visibility and required a bodybuilder’s physique to drive.
A modern supercar, however, is a rather different proposition, something best exemplified by the McLaren 720S.
Sure, its new twin-turbo four-litre V8 produces an almighty 720bhp, it will hurtle from a standstill to 100km/hr in 2.9 seconds and its Variable Drift Control (essentially electronics that allow for easy-peasy powerslides) allows even complete duffers to feel like driving gods. Or how its striking design and taut, ‘shrink-wrapped’ silhouette was informed exclusively by the needs of aerodynamic efficiency.
But that isn’t the biggest achievement of the Mclaren 720S – that comes in the form of how it’s engineered for ease of use. It’s built, as its forebear was, around a carbon fibre monocoque, though this time it’s been significantly reworked. The passenger cell has slim pillars for better all-round visibility and its door apertures have relatively low sills for easy ingress/egress.
And the icing on the cake? How does a service interval of one year/20,000km sound? It might sound a little prosaic, but that, and its superlative speed, handling, technical achievements and ease of ownership add up to make the McLaren 720S truly the future of the supercar.
