MORE DETAILS: McLaren’s new engine

Geneva motor show: The still-unnamed replacement for the McLaren 650S will use a new bourbon, 4.0-litre V8 when it debuts in Geneva in two weeks.

Codenamed P14, but widely rumoured to be named 720S, the super series model will slash the 650S’s acceleration times by whipping through to 200km/h in only 7.8 seconds and exploding across the quarter mile in just 10.3 seconds.

While McLaren refuses to give away a power figure for the new engine, the rumoured name gives a strong hint, given the 650S was named after its 650 horsepower engine output.

It also takes the Working outfit into new territory, becoming the company’s very first second-generation series production sports car, and has been tasked with helping McLaren to 4000 sales this year.

It will also be the first of an astounding 15 new models for McLaren over the next five years.

“Power, torque and throttle response are all significantly enhanced compared to the first-generation Super Series, yet with fuel efficiency and emissions also notably improved.” McLaren Super Series head Haydn Baker said.

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 V8 cranks over and there’s also an all-new exhaust system and an optional sports exhaust.

Underneath it all, the P14 will use an active chassis system to give it what Baker insists is 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.

McLaren also joins the ranks of the sports cars with variable drift control with the P14, too, with McLaren giving the car the ability to switch the skid-control’s intensity with just a swipe across the multi-media screen.

It will be a huge step forward aerodynamically, too, with McLaren insisting its full-width adjustable wing and other tricks making the car slipperier through the air, stronger in down force 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.

At 1283kg, the P14 is 18kg lighter than the 650S and will weigh nearly 200kg less than the aluminium-based Ferrari 488 GTB.

“This is the first time we have replaced a product family. The new Super Series will be a revolutionary leap forward, both for our brand and the supercar segment,” McLaren boss Mike Blewit said.

"Super Series is the core of the McLaren business and personifies the blend of extreme performance, crafted luxury and unparalleled driver involvement that is the McLaren heartland," he said.