Meet McLaren's 750S Le Mans special edition
We love supercars. They represent the pinnacle of modern engineering through speed and precision, but special editions – well, we love them that bit more. This time around McLaren has a new-ish brute in its fleet, serving as a tribute to the legendary victory the F1 GTR achieved in 1995. It's called the McLaren 750S Le Mans special edition, and it is as gorgeous as British cars come.
As the story goes, the 18th of June 1995 was a monumental day for McLaren Motorsport. It’s the day when the F1 GTR proved its worth in the most enduring street race in the world, Le Mans. On this day, JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya piloted their F1 GTR to victory, with three other F1 GTRs filling up the top five spots. It was a day marked by triumph, which McLaren holds close to its hearts.
Thirty years later, McLaren still reminisces on this iconic race day, so to celebrate this milestone, a number of 750S models has returned to the drawing board, and the results, as subtle as they may be, offer a seriously stunning product.
So what makes this special edition so special? In terms of design, two paint options are available, the first being Le Mans Grey and, of course, the second being McLaren Orange. But to pay homage to the F1 GTR, a number of performance and aesthetic components join the spec sheet. The standard 750S is enhanced with 5-spoke Le Mans wheels, F1-style gold brake calipers, carbon fibre front fenders featuring gloss black louvres, gloss black exterior accents, a natural titanium exhaust tip, and painted Le Mans branding. And this concludes the aesthetic touches, but there is more.
A roof scoop plays further into the F1 GTR narrative, and to ensure this isn’t any old 750S, the addition of a new MSO High Downforce Kit wraps up the list of performance enhancements. This adds a raised gloss black carbon fibre active rear spoiler, an enlarged gloss black carbon fibre splitter, and a louvred body colour carbon fibre under-wing panel with gloss black louvres. In a nutshell, these additions add 10% to the car's downforce capability and enhance its track readiness, further touching on the F1 GTR's legacy.
Under the bonnet sits the same engine that makes the standard 750S so utterly crazy. And although this special edition doesn’t add much to the performance, it's still a rocket of a car. Inside sits a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 producing 552kW and 800Nm bolted to a 7-speed transmission. What this allows for is a 0-100km/h in 2.8 seconds and 0-200km/h in 7.2 seconds. With revised downforce over the 720S and a new aero package, it's nearly entering P1 territory.
But like any special edition, the interior is tweaked and houses numerous Le Mans touches. For example, the 750S Le Mans comes with a choice of interiors, either a carbon black Alcantara with jet black soft grain leather and dove grey Alcantara, or McLaren Orange Alcantara throughout. Lastly, to remind the owner that they are driving a special edition, Le Mans debossed headrest branding, a bespoke Le Mans dedication plaque and Le Mans branded floor mats are included.
As utterly gorgeous and subtly old-school as this car may appear, it will likely be parked to show off, as there aren’t an overwhelming number of performance additions to this 750S, and most of these new touches are aesthetic. Nevertheless, we love special cars, and this new 750S is gorgeous but retains a sensible nature with some iconic gear. It’s a shame only 50 of these cars will ever exist. I wouldn't mind if these features became standard for the brand instead of being limited editions; I'd love to see more McLarens with roof scoops and vintage racing wheels. It suits it.
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