In the world of high-powered supercars, perhaps the only thing faster than the vehicles themselves is how quickly they’re snatched up by the public. Few brands know that better than McLaren, a company that specializes in rare, low-volume, and extremely high-demand products.
The 675LT Spider, the fastest open-top McLaren ever built, has sold each of its planned 500 units just two weeks after it was unveiled. This should come as no surprise given the car’s gorgeous silhouette and astonishing abilities, especially when you consider the lack of performance penalties that come with the convertible layout.
Due to the inherent strength of McLaren’s carbon fiber “MonoCell” chassis, the Spider does not require additional bracing or reinforcing despite its roof being chopped. That means the convertible weighs just 88 pounds more than the standard 675 Longtail, which gives it near identical performance in an open-air, hair-rustling environment.
Both cars equip the same 3.8-liter, twin-turbo V8 that powers the entirety of McLaren’s model range, and it makes a devilish 666 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. 0 to 60 mph comes in just 2.9 seconds regardless of roof setup, but the Spider is a blink slower than the coupe to 124 mph — 8.1 seconds compared to 7.9. For comparison’s sake, the standard 675LT took around two months to sell its 500 allocated units.
To celebrate the Spider’s success on the sales floor, McLaren has released a new track video of the car with Formula E pro Bruno Senna at the wheel. The film shows the vehicle ripping around a circuit in a crescendo of beautiful slides, with some bonus pops from the exhaust as a bonus.
“It’s very hard to decide between the Spider and the coupe,” Senna explained after a few hot laps. “I drove the coupe; it felt the same. It doesn’t feel very different. I think this is the clever part of the carbon [fiber] tub, because you can just choose whatever suits your taste. I know this car is not going to have exactly the same top speed of the other car because it has a bit more drag, but who cares?”
Check out the full video below.
