How McLaren tweaked the 765LT’s body to max out aero and lightness

These days, carmakers have to consider all future design and performance upgrades well before the base product’s launch, since crash and emission regulations as well as the core tooling won’t allow for extreme changes at a later date. What McLaren has done with the Super Series platform is very impressive— even considering that the brand’s fierce competition is not half bad at this game either. Yet given how focused the mostly carbon-fiber 720S already is both in terms of track performance, active aero, and lightweight engineering, the new “Long Tail” McLaren is a particular treat.

Rob Melville’s design team and Woking’s army of engineers dug deep enough to shred a total of 176 pounds off the 720S to get to the 765LT, accomplishing this by using more carbon-fiber, polycarbonate, and titanium. However, the additional body panels flow seamlessly into the car’s original lines, all in the name of more downforce and cooling for this 2710-pound track special.

The 765LT comes with a longer nose extension than a rear one, because the larger front splitter has to generate enough downforce to balance out the active rear wing, which also grew in size for those heated track moments. There are more air intakes for the low-temperature radiators as well, while the rear has more laser-cut holes than the rebel aircraft’s in six hours’ worth of Star Wars. On the side, a deep door duct and the enlarged lower intake feeds the main cooling, while floating blades create a cleaner airflow. Last but not least, using plastic over glass means that McLaren could “shrink-wrap” the engine using shapes that aren’t present on the 720S. The new 765LT is quite the package and most likely a worthy successor to the already iconic 675LT.

More on that after we drive this beauty…