First drives 300-mile test
Drop-off: 300 miles
A convertible less attractive
than its coupe sibling is
unforgivable. Handing it back,
the Spider gets a longing last
glance: job done.2 05 miles 280 miles
The road is getting quieter and
more twisty. Time to try the Track
setting in Slim Display Mode. You
only get the essentials here, with
the instrument cluster swivelled
to minimalist max-attack mode.Even the fire trucks
are bigger in the US.
Fire engines old and
new overshadow the
McLaren at a Payson
shopping mall.Does the style grab the emotions? You bet. Everywhere we go
Arizonans gave the thumbs up. But it’s less graceful to my eyes
than a 488, if every bit as sensational – and all the more so with
those upswinging doors, still unusual on a roadster.
Open the feather-light dihedral door and vault the big carbon
sill and then settle in the snug, tight-fitting seat. You feel at one
with the car instantly. Fiddle with the (too complicated) electric
seat adjuster that’s part of Luxury spec – a lighter, manual
adjuster is so much better on a lightweight sportster – and the
driving position is just so. The steering wheel and pedals are
perfectly aligned, straight ahead of the driver, with none of the
askew nonsense that still plagues some rivals. You also sit nearer
the centreline than in most sports cars, though Jamie says he
feels oddly too far from the door. Or more likely, too near me.
There is simply no better environment for keen drivers.
Visibility is excellent for a mid-engine car, roof up or down (we
go topless after 50 miles or so, and the opening action is fast
and silent). Thank the glassy canopy for the excellent visibility,
new glazed flying buttresses and those pleasingly slim pillars.
The carbon-and-leather steering wheel is lovely to feel and
unsullied by switches and buttons. Steering wheels are to steer,
not to adjust the suspension, turn on indicators or answer the
telephone. (Ferrari and Porsche please take note.)
Cabin design is simple and uncluttered. Don’t distract the
driver with fripperies and gimmicks. The new and much im-
proved touchscreen is still portrait shaped, the centre console
is unusually narrow (to get the two seats nearer the middle)
and there is a row of toggles and knobs, including for adjusting
powertrain and suspension.
The twin-turbo V8 snarls into action, and the theatre begins:
in front of you the main instrument binnacle, made from
chunky carbonfibre, swivels into position. The binnacle looks
like it’s come from an F1 car – in Track mode it’s a thin slither
of carbon with just bar-graph tacho, plus digital speed readout
and gear selected. Alonso must have looked at something
similar last year. The default position is Comfort – it used to
be called Normal on McLarens but, of course, there is nothing
normal about driving a McLaren. In this mode (and Sport), the
binnacle swivels to display a big central tacho – the engine can
rev comfortably past 8000rpm – with digital speed display, plus
configurable outer displays.Despite the noise and theatre and styling drama, and its per-
formance, the 720S Spider is astonishingly easy to drive. Good
visibility, auto gearshifts (hit Active to select manual) and an
amazingly compliant ride, thanks mostly to McLaren’s superb
hydraulic suspension. The steering is beautifully weighted
and precise. It’s electro-hydraulic. McLaren (rightly) feels fully
electric systems remain insufficiently feelsome.
On the main road to Payson – 5000ft high, renowned for
rodeo, surrounded by forest – the big Mac quietly powers along,
in Comfort, auto ’box self-selecting big gears and low revs.
It’s only in such conditions that you notice turbo lag. Stab the
throttle and the revs pause before the twin turbos energise and
you surge forward on a tidal wave of torque and power. When
the revs are high, and you demand action, you get it, instantly.
We head north-east, up to higher altitudes and colder climes,
finding a twisting traffic-free road through the snowy forest
that allows the 720S to throw off the shackles. Choose Sport,
then Track, and we’re in one of the world’s fastest and most
thrilling supercars, the mid-range punch Mike Tyson-violent,
the steering sharp and tactile and still finely weighted, and the
handing agile and precise as the magic active hydraulic suspen-
sion flips from supple like a limo to taut like a racer.
Venturing back towards Phoenix and heading south, closer
to sea level, the temperature builds and the weather becomes
Arizona-normal, sunny and mild on this fine winter’s day. We
turn the heater temperature down and are now warmed by the
sun stroking our scalps and arms, rather than a blower toasting
our toes.
And as we enjoy this finely engineered open-roof car, gliding
gently through Scottsdale’s well-trimmed suburbs, we wonder:
is there any other sports car that can do all this, with such
joyful mix of speed, excitement, ease-of-driving, comfort and
engineering capability – plus that sensory sun-kissed delight of
open-air driving? ⊲The magic active hydraulic
suspension flips from
supple like a limo to taut
like a racer
Instruments pivot
between Slim and
Full Display at the
press of a buttonAPRIL 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 41