The McLaren 720S is Going Racing
The McLaren 720S GT3 race car has been unveiled ahead of its competition debut in 2019.
Just like the road car, the 720S GT3 uses the British supercar maker’s MonoCage II carbon fiber tub, along with the same M840T 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine. That’s where most of the similarities end, however. The race-prepped 4.0-liter doesn’t have all 710 hp on tap, as the GT3 racing category limits how much power a car can have to keep things fair.
Power is also sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential racing transmission and Salisbury-type limited slip differential.
The 720S GT3 also gets a new braking system with optimized brake calipers, enhanced cooling and improved durability, along with a redesigned rear suspension geometry with four-way adjustable dampers. Inside, the race car has an adjustable pedal box and adjustable steering wheel, while a rear-view camera with an in-car display and a tire pressure monitoring system are available as options. All 720S GT3s will be left-hand drive – sorry in advance, racing drivers from Britain, Japan and elsewhere.
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McLaren says it wanted to make the 720S GT3 not only fast, but stable and easy to drive for less experienced racers. The company also ensured the car was fuel efficient, inexpensive to run and service and had improved tire management and reliability compared to the outgoing 650S GT3. Track testing for the vehicle is underway now, with McLaren’s customer race teams set to take delivery of the £440,000 ($565,000 USD) race car later this year or in early 2019.
“The McLaren 720S is such a multi-talented road car that we always knew honing its pure racing talents and making a GT3 car out of it would be an entirely natural process – and so it has been,” said Dan Walmsley, McLaren’s motorsport director. “While largely a bespoke machine, the GT3 car is still a McLaren 720S at its core. Developing a race car is about optimising every component and the lightweight MonoCage II carbon fibre chassis is the perfect base for this.”
Look for the 720S GT3 to appear on GT3 grids all over the world starting next year.
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Sam McEachern holds a diploma in journalism from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, and has been covering the automotive industry for over 5 years. He conducts reviews and writes AutoGuide's news content. He's a die-hard motorsports fan with a passion for performance cars of all sorts.
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