A car for the 12 percent: McLaren working on track-taming 650S variant

By Nick Jaynes April 2, 2014

614 horsepower. 0 to 60 in 3.0 seconds. 207 mph in 10.5 seconds. And you want more? There must be far more spine-hating millionaires out there than I expected.

Although it packs a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6, the McLaren 650S is a supercar designed primarily for road use. That’s because only 12 percent of McLaren 650S owners are expected to use their cars on the track.

So for those who want a 650S but also want to look like they have scoliosis, McLaren is planning a more track-focused version of its mid-range supercar. You know, because enjoying the drive to work in your $300,000 car is for suckers.

McLaren’s Chief development driver, Chris Goodwin, said of the 650S, “This is not as far as we’re going to go – there’s plenty more we can do,” according to Autoexpress.

What might a more extreme version of the 650S might look like? Probably not too different. If I had to guess, it might not be much more powerful but rather less luxurious on the inside. Think P1 without an electric motor … or 903 hp.

Stripping out amenities would save weight without rejiggering the turbochargers too much, which could add unwanted turbo lag. It’d also make the 650S a far less fun place to be.

Why would you want something like that? Because you can, I guess.

If you’re one of the masochists who wants a tracky 650S, it’ll run you about $40,000 more than the road-going version.

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Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…

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