McLaren has unveiled the 720S Spider, a drop-top version of its 720S super coupe, at the company’s annual Winter Ball.
Visually, the topless 720S is largely identical to the coupe – with the main exception being the roof. Despite being a folding non-fabric hardtop, the heavy use of carbon fibre and a clever folding mechanism mean that it only adds 49kg of weight – that lifts the Spider’s total dry mass to 1332kg, which is 88kg lighter than its direct rival, the Ferrari 488 Spider
The one-piece carbon roof can raise or lower in just 11 seconds – 6 seconds faster than the old 650S Spider – at speeds of up to 50km/h. McLaren claims the hardtop is much quieter than the outgoing six-fiddy, while visibility has improved by 12 per cent thanks to the new ‘flying buttresses’ behind the doors.
The 720S Spider is powered by the same mid-mounted 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 as the coupe, which produces 529kW of power and 770Nm of torque. It can complete the 0-100km/h sprint in an identical 2.9 seconds, while the run to 200km/h is a tenth of a second slower at 7.9 seconds. Top speed is rated at 341km/h with the roof up, or 325km/h with the roof down.
McLaren has begun taking orders for the new 720S Spider, with deliveries scheduled to begin in March next year.
Redline 