The 2019 McLaren 720S is a ”special machine”
Jason Statham has dazzled on the big screen as one of Hollywood’s favourite bad boy action thriller stars. His roles in early Guy Ritchie classics earned him a reputation for having a conniving and machiavellian disposition. His proclivity for dark and vigorous characters have led to his affinity with cars of the same nature. Statham owns an extensive collection of supercars, like the Porsche 911 GT2 and the Ferrari F12, to name but a few.
“The McLarens are just special machines, it’s like driving a video game car, with the power controllers and it is just super precise engineering,”
The newest to that collection is the 2019 McLaren 720S Spider, the same car he drives in his latest action film feature, Fast & Furious, Hobbs & Shaw. Perhaps the difference between Statham and his cunning characters are few and far between. That is an enjoyable external perception, but why does Statham like the 720S so much? “The McLarens are just special machines, it’s like driving a video game car, with the power controllers and it is just super precise engineering,” he says.
720S Features
Maybe the perception of Statham and his characters as one person is a bit lazy, as it is not so difficult to imagine his affection for the car, the 720S is as he says, a special machine. This car is the second in the Super Series class, after the 650S. The twin-turbocharged, 710 horsepower, 4.0 litre V-8 engine puts this at the top of the coupe class, rivalling its 488 Spider, Huracan Spyder competition. The 720S is the successor to the 650S, and it shares much of its components, but this time it is stronger, quicker and lighter.
It has 70 horsepower more than the 650S, is 15 pounds lighter and gets from 0-60 quicker too. Just when we thought convertible supercars couldn’t get any better, McLaren proves yet again, they are the convertible kings. They had this to say about the 720S Spider, “It is the most accomplished supercar ever made.”
The overall design is much the same as its predecessor, the 650S, but it does have some differences that can be pointed out. The headlights are far more curved into the fascia and hide air vents that funnel incoming air, and the doors were also redesigned to channel air into the engine, plus the rear fender vents were removed from from the main body outlets. These changes have promoted up to 50% more downforce than the 650S, but other than that and some more small tweaks, the 720S looks very similar to the 650S.
McLaren also introduced the Belize Blue option for the 720S with the great white shark in mind, comparing the super car to the ocean beast, ”Our designers took inspiration from the Great White shark, a beautifully sleek yet brutal efficient hunting machine.”
The roof feature on this convertible series is the canopy system which is made from carbon fibre and can open or close at speeds of 50km/h in 11 seconds, which is by far the quickest in the convertible supercar class, and half the time of its predecessor, the 650S. To compensate for the lack of roof, the 720S was given dihedral doors. The roof comes with a glass option as well, which lets more light into the cabin than the pure carbon fibre top.
The McLaren 720S is an exotic super car and lives up to its Great White shark idol. The supercar combines the beauty and malevolence of the hunting ocean beast, and the striking Belize Blue colour reflects it perfectly. McLaren, once again pulls of another fabulous supercar. It is no wonder that the rich and famous are so drawn to these cars, as many celebrities are seen driving around in them. The 720S, like its McLaren siblings that came before it, is a testament to the manufacturer’s capability to combine beauty and performance. McLaren supercars are a status symbol and the 720S is no exception.
