McLaren 720S Spider unleashed
British supercar-maker claims McLaren 720S Spider is lightest in its class and can crack 325km/h roof downMcLaren has pulled the drapes off the all-new 2019 McLaren 720S Spider at its annual winter ball held at the supercar-maker's HQ in Woking, England.
Claimed to be the lightest convertible supercar in its class, the McLaren 720S Spider is said to weigh just 49kg more than the coupe, with a dry kerb weight of just 1332kg -- 88kg lighter than its most direct rival, the 1420kg Ferrari 488 Spider.
Powered by exactly the same twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 as the coupe, the McLaren 720S generates an identical 527kW and 770Nm of torque.
It's against the clock the modest weight gain makes its impact, the 720S Spider taking 2.9 seconds to reach 100km/h, from standstill, and 7.9 seconds to hit 200km/h -- both of those are around 0.1 seconds slower than the coupe.
Featuring a completely redesigned and re-engineered retractable hard-top that shares little with the old 650S Spider, the new British drop-top supercar gets a single-piece carbon-fibre panel that can raise or lower in just 11 seconds -- six seconds faster than before.
The new roof can also be operated at speeds up to 50km/h.
With the roof stowed, the 720S Spider can be driven to a limited top speed of 325km/h. Roof raised, this increases to 341km/h -- the same maximum top speed as the coupe.
As well as the carbon-fibre roof panel, McLaren has announced it will offer 720S Spider buyers the option of a glazed roof that switches from being transparent to opaque at the touch of a button.
In an attempt to offer McLaren Spider owners the same excellent all-round vision as the coupe, the new roof's rear flying buttresses are glazed too.
To ensure the convertible 720S remains stable at its high top speed(s), engineers put its flagship Super Series Spider back in the wind tunnel.
At the rear of the McLaren designers optimised the 720S' aerodynamics to cope with the different body shape with roof up or down.
To help offset roofless antics, engineers say they also recalibrated the active rear spoiler, which now works differently to the coupe.
Beneath the tweaked body, the 720S Spider is based on the same full carbon-fibre Monocage II structure that is so immensely strong it didn't need any extra bracing to convert the coupe to a roadster.
The biggest change is that, in the absence of the central carbon roof support, the Spider misses out on the 720S coupe's dihedral doors.
Inside, it's business as usual for the 720S Spider, with the coupe's cabin carrying over largely unchanged.
The 2019 McLaren 720S Spider is on sale now in Europe and it's thought deliveries will begin globally in early 2019. In the UK, the 720S Spider has been priced around $35,000 above the coupe. If that translates Down Under, expect it to cost around $550,000 (plus on-road costs) here.
When it arrives, the 720S Spider will be offered with the option of new 10-spoke alloy wheels and two new colour choices, to add to the already considerable 23 shades available, including a silver hue that was originally offered on the previous 12C.
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