McLaren 675LT Spider launched at £2,85,450

McLaren 675LT Spider has been launched in UK at an asking price of £2,85,450. This is the drop-top version of the 675LT Coupe and the latest addition to the Super Series will be limited to 500 units globally. It is also the fifth model to debut from the McLaren stable this year after the McLaren P1 GTR, 570S Coupe, 540C Coupe and the 675LT Coupe.

The 675LT Spider carries forward the legendary LT (Long Tail) badge and sticking true to the original, has been designed with a focus on light weighting and improved aerodynamic performance. Carbon-fibre has been extensively used in its construction with the material being used to produce several elements on the car such as the front bumper with larger splitter and end plates, front under body, side intakes, side skirts, lower side intakes, rear deck, rear fenders, rear bumper, diffuser and ‘Longtail’ Airbrake. The three-piece retractable hardtop can be operated at speeds of up to 19 mph (30 km/h).

The McLaren 675LT Spider has an overall dry weight of just 1,270 kg which means that it is a full 100 kg lighter than the 650S Spider and only 40 kg heavier than the 675LT Coupe. Exterior colour options are Silica White, Delta Red, Napier Green, Chicane Grey and a new deep golden colour named Solis. Solis in Latin means ‘the sun’ and is a custom shade available exclusively on the open-top variant. The standard wheels are 10-spoke ultra-lightweight forged alloys with 19-inchers at the front and 20-inch units at the back; shod with custom-built P Zero Trofeo R tyres from Pirelli.

The interior screams sportiness with bare carbon fibre featuring extensively on the inside. The Alcantara-wrapped racing seats have a light carbon fibre shell and are same as the ones fitted in the McLaren P1 hypercar. This structure alone saves 15 kg. The centrally-mounted touchscreen for the infotainment system can be used to control heating, ventilation and audio functions for the four-speaker Meridian sound system. Air conditioning is not stock fitted as it adds 16 kg but can be specified as a no-cost-option.

Beneath the sinuous body lies the heavily revised 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine coupled to a 7-speed SSG transmission. The powertrain features 50% new components that include efficient turbos, design changes to cylinder heads and exhaust manifolds. New camshaft and lightweight connecting rods alongwith a faster-flowing fuel pump and delivery system round-off the changes. These revisions don’t alter the output figures but instead optimise delivery of power and torque for better drivability.

Power and torque is still at 666 bhp and 700 Nm (516 lb.-ft.). Performance figures are breathtakingly fast with the sprint from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) taking just 2.9 seconds and the 0-124 mph (0-200 km/h) blast requiring only 8.1 seconds. The pull is likely to be relentless until the top speed of 203 mph (326 km/h) is achieved. Despite the performance, the McLaren 675LT Spider gives out EU combined fuel efficiency figures of 24.2 mpg (10.28 km/l) and CO2 emission of just 275 g/km.

The 675LT Spider has the most track-focused spring rates among the Super Series models with stiffness increased to 27% at the front and 63% at the rear. This setting allows for more rearward balance (all the better for pulling huge drifts) and also provides 40% more downforce compared to the 650S Spider.

The beast can be spotted in showrooms by summer of 2016.

McLaren 675LT Spider launched press release