First Drive: 2024 McLaren 750S

This first drive review was originally published in the summer 2024 issue of Vicarious magazine.

Palm Spring, California –  I have a true confession: I’m one of the very few car reviewers out there who came away unimpressed by the McLaren 720S. My one and only experience piloting the British brand’s highest-performing supercar back in 2018 was, for sure, not net positive.

Here are the details.

The test of the 720S happened during the Pure McLaren Performance Academy Track Advanced program at the Thermal Club, a country club racetrack 45 minutes outside Palm Springs, California. This was not a launch event. Rather, it was an even more rare opportunity to spend a full day behind the wheel of a supercar, unencumbered by speed limits. In fact, we were encouraged to go faster and faster by driving coaches riding shotgun.

The atmosphere at the Thermal Club is fantastic. The facility is relaxed, the weather is often glorious and there are a few different track configurations that offer a nice level of challenge. There are also some drawbacks. One of the configurations in particular is extremely tight with a sequence of low-speed turns not well-suited to a turbocharged supercar.

This was our designated playground for the day. By the day’s conclusion, though, it turned out to be equal parts fun and frustrating. It was clear that the 720S wasn’t entirely at home within the confines of the tight configuration. What’s more, the region’s notorious winds conspired to scatter sand across the track, making improvements in lap time impossible.

The road course situated inside Las Vegas Motor Speedway is not as special as the Thermal Club—not by a long shot. But what this circuit lacks in terms of character, it claws back when it comes to sheer speed. It’s not a particularly challenging track, just seven turns spaced out over 1.77 kilometres. But none of the turns is overly tight, there’s plenty of run-off area and the start/finish straight measures over 330 metres in length.

While that doesn’t sound like a very long stretch, it is when you’re driving a car as rapid as the 2024 McLaren 750S, the supercar that replaces the 720S in the fleet. This was the setting for the North American launch of the latest from the British manufacturer.

First things first: Although the 750S resembles its predecessor, fully 30 per cent of the car is entirely new. From a visual perspective, the new car features different sculpting for improved aerodynamic performance, new suspension geometry, a front track that’s six millimeters wider and a rear wing with 20 per cent greater surface area. The front splitter is different, as are the front and rear bumpers, eye-socket air intakes at the front and rear wheel arch vents.

Although the engineers didn’t say as much, my suspicion is that these revisions were made to make the McLaren more adept at handling tighter and slower turns, in addition to providing increased downforce at higher speeds.

Under the surface, there are more changes. The twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V-8 has been retuned to develop 740 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. The seven-speed dual-clutch automatic has been recalibrated for heightened response. And the 750S is 30 kg lighter than the 720S. These modifications combine to generate shocking levels of acceleration: 0 to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and 0 to 200 km/h in 7.2 seconds.

Other changes include a faster steering ratio, a new power-assist steering pump, a quicker vehicle lift system for raising the low nose of the car, and an available upgraded brake package with ceramic discs and monobloc calipers. Lastly, there’s a new version of the manufacturer’s linked-hydraulic suspension system, Proactive Chassis Control III, which gives the 750S a greater range, from surprising comfort to all-out track attack.

Everything works like magic.

The 750S is, of course, ridiculously fast in a straight line—this goes without saying. But what was truly eye-opening, particularly when compared to my experience with the 720S, is how the new supercar responds when pushed harder and harder. Coming into the slow left-hander after the start/finish straight, the brakes functioned like an honest-to-goodness race car. If you dared leave your braking to the last possible moment, or maybe even beyond that moment, the 750S was up for the challenge.

The same goes for the way the McLaren negotiated the red-and-white curbing that delineated the entry, apex and exit points of the corners. The 750S vaulted over the curbs with ease and grace, before settling back down and powering on down the track.

The car was also forgiving in the way that only truly great modern supercars can be. Too early on the throttle coming out of a turn? No problem. Missed the apex by a car width? Not ideal, but not an issue. Carrying too much speed through a given corner? Slides are easy to hold, and recovery is quick.

Without question, the 2024 McLaren 750S is an epic supercar, one that’s among the best ever. For my money, it’s also a significant improvement over the 720S—on paper and in real life. While my experience driving the 720S was equal parts fun and frustration, the scales were tipped heavily towards the positive side in the 750S. The only frustration, in fact, was that we weren’t given more laps behind the wheel. It’s a simple fact. You can never get enough track time.