High-performance, track-focused convertibles are a strange thing. It's widely known that the chassis strengthening needed once a roof is taken off adds a lot of weight to a car, but the fact that customers keep buying these drop-top speed machines, means that brands will keep building them.
Catering to a similar niche as the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster, McLaren has just whipped the covers of the 765LT Spider, which is now the most powerful convertible in the range.
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Beneath the rear engine cover sits a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine, which pumps out an enormous 562kW and 800Nm of torque. This is sent directly to the rear wheels through an automatic transmission.
As you'd expect, performance is nothing short of neck-snapping here, and this 765LT Spider will hit 100km/h in 2.8 seconds before topping out at 330km/h. McLaren has also stated that it's the fastest convertible around a track that it has produced.
To McLaren's credit, the brand has made sure that the strengthening needed to reinforce the chassis hasn't added too much weight. To do this, the British brand used thinner glass, an advanced carbon fibre construction, and a titanium exhaust that's 40 per cent lighter than steel.
This has resulted in a roadster that weighs just 1,338kg, which is just 49kg more than the 765LT coupe, and is around 80kg lighter than the 720S Spider. Because of this, it gets a best-in-class 439 kW-per-tonne rating.
On the outside, it gets the same carbon fibre aero package as the 765LT coupe, which means that it has 25 per cent more downforce than the 720S Spider.
On the inside, it's the same carbon fibre-clad story, with a pair of race seats made from the light-weight material. It also gets a carbon fibre centre tunnel, an exposed carbon floor, and Alcantara upholstry.
Interestingly, McLaren was so set on saving weight here that it left out both the radio and an air conditioning system. The 8-inch touchscreen display in the dash is reportedly only used to see important powertrain information as well as lap times and telemetry.
McLaren is planning to only build 765 of these track-focused Spiders, meaning that not everyone with the cash will be able to get their hands on one.
