GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Watch McLaren 720S in action

McLaren has released a new video of its 650S replacement being drifted around a race circuit two weeks before its official reveal at the Geneva motor show on March 7.

McLaren says the reason for the exuberant display is to show how the second-generation Super Series' stiff carbon-fibre chassis, suspension and tyre development will allow owners to easily drive to, and beyond, the limit.

Codenamed P14 and likely to be called the 720S, the new Super Series will also come with some of the most powerful brakes money can buy.

Thanks to standard carbon-ceramic discs, the British supercar maker says the forthcoming 720S will brake from 200km/h in just 4.6 seconds and just 117 metres.

To put that into context, McLaren that's six metres shorter than the 650S and almost on par with its million-dollar P1 hypercar.

It helps, of course, that at 1283kg the P14 is 18kg lighter than the 650S, but the British firm says the majority of the improvements come from its lighter, stiffer brake callipers, carbon ceramic-discs and increased tyre performance.

Speaking of which, McLaren says it's worked closely with Pirelli to create a bespoke P Zero Corsa tyre that brings a six per cent improvement in mechanical grip compared to the old 650S.

It's likely the new car, which remains rear-wheel drive, will need plenty of grip (and traction) to deploy the full might of its new twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8.

Rumoured to come with as much as 720hp (530kW) – hence the possibility it will be named the ‘720S’ – McLaren has already announced its new coupe will
hit 200km/h from standstill in just 7.8 seconds and reach the traditional quarter-mile (402 metres) in 10.3sec.

Full performance figures will be revealed at the Swiss show but it's safe to guess the small Macca will easily beat the Ferrari 488 GTB’s 0-100km/h time of 3.0sec and surpass its 330km/h top speed.

The new M840T engine will use a pair of twin-scroll turbochargers that McLaren claims all but eliminates spool-up time and turbo lag.

Besides its power output and the ferocity of its acceleration, the engine bay also lights up when the car is unlocked and, hidden away mostly from view, there’s an all-new exhaust system and an optional sports exhaust.

Underneath it all, the P14 will use an active chassis system that's claim to give the “widest breadth of dynamic ability" of any McLaren in history.

Dubbed Proactive Chassis Control II, it has Comfort, Sport and Track settings and uses sensors all over the car, including an accelerometer in each wheel hub, to analyse the car’s behaviour and then to automatically adjust the damping, hundreds of times a second.

The new McLaren also joins the ranks of the sports cars with variable drift control. Owners will have the option of adjusting the skid-control’s intensity with just a swipe across the multi-media screen.

It will be a huge step forward aerodynamically, with McLaren insisting its full-width adjustable wing and other tricks make the car slipperier through the air, stronger in downforce and better in cooling the engine.

The car will be based around McLaren’s Monocage II carbon-fibre chassis tub, with a T-bar shaped roof and dihedral doors that curl over to become an integral part of the roof shape and allow better ingress and egress.

The entire car, as well as its name and vital statistics, will be revealed at the Geneva show on March 7.

If you can’t wait until then, the 720S was leaked at the end of January at a special VIP event.