Video: McLaren 750S at the 2023 Festival of Speed

Launched at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, the 720S is still unspeakably fast and more than capable of keeping up with the latest from Ferrari, but a comprehensive once-over has been made to extract some additional performance until a full-fat, all-new hybridised V8 big-brother to the plug-in hybrid V6 McLaren Artura arrives. 

Rocketing up the Hill at the 2023 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, the McLaren 750S is one serious piece of kit. The company says 30 per cent of the parts on this car have changed compared to the 720S, with gains in refinement, comfort, aerodynamic capability and, undoubtedly, performance.

The bodywork has been tweaked, and there’s now a P1-style single and central exhaust, but the front axle has also been widened by 6mm. The Proactive Chassis Control hydraulically-linked suspension system is now in its latest third generation, with a stiffer rear and softer front, McLaren promising a better ride, more controlled body, better steering and generally better cornering. It’s not like the 720S wasn’t a monster, so we can’t wait to see what the 750S feels like.

Adjustments have been made to the hydraulic steering, there are ‘Track’ brakes available (similar ceramic discs and monobloc callipers to the Senna and 765LT), and there’s 30kg less weight than its predecessor, tipping the scales at 1,277kg. The interior has had a thorough going over, too. 

It’s the engine you’re probably most interested in, however, and as the name suggests the car produces 750PS (552kW) and 800Nm (590lb ft) of torque from its 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8. The engine revs to 8,500rpm, the ratios in the seven-speed double-clutch gearbox have been shortened like the 765LT, and you’ll be hitting 62mph in less than 2.8 seconds, 124mph in 7.2 seconds and 186mph in under 20 seconds on your way to a top speed of 206mph. Whoever was behind the wheel for this particular run certainly didn’t hit 206mph, but they absolutely weren’t hanging around. Whoever it was in the passenger seat was clearly stirred by the performance, too.