McLaren 675LT
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A little longer, a lot lighter, and a leap forward
What is LT? McLaren will hate us saying this, but it is their take on Porsche’s ‘RS’ philosophy – the name given to those road cars that are lighter, faster and more focused than the car on which they’re based.
So why not call them ‘RS’, like Porsche or indeed Ford or Audi? Well, we hear this was indeed tabled but that’s not really the McLaren way so they dug into their heritage and named the car after the McLaren F1 GTR ‘Longtail’ – a homologation special that extended the F1’s competitive edge in sports car racing in the late 90s. The F1 Longtail was lighter, faster and yes, longer; and so is this.
In time, the full McLaren range is likely to get the LT treatment – but this was the first. And what a debut. No question, the 675LT – available as a coupé and spider – is absolutely sensational. In just three years, values have remained solid, owners rave about them, and collectors see them as a genuine future classic.
Based on the 650S road car, itself an evolution of the 2011 12C (McLaren’s first car of the new era of road car production), the 675LT features carbon-fibre bodywork, a 666bhp V8 twin-turbo engine and revised aerodynamics. Downforce is increased by 40 per cent over the 650S, power by 3 per cent and the weight reduced by 100kg to 1230kg (dry).
In addition, the shift time of the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is twice as fast, the wheels ultra-lightweight forged alloy items and the windscreen 1mm thinner. You may look upon these as incremental changes that amount to little in total, and the meagre 3cm increase in overall length may compound your view, but you’d be wrong. The McLaren 675LT is a giant leap over the 650S both in terms of performance and driver enjoyment. The latter is the important point here; with the 675LT McLaren has created a more adjustable, and more playful driver’s car.
Such is its brilliance on track, many of the 1000 675LTs have seen plenty of circuit action and therefore buyers will need to ensure that the car has been thoroughly serviced. There are reports of minor niggles, but mechanically the LT appears to be very tough indeed.
So what’s not to like? The price? Maybe, but it’s worth reading dealer Carl Hartley’s view on that below… Coupés start at £260,000 (the price they were new) and rise to £300k for the best specced models, and Spiders tend to sit at just above £310,000. However, this is not just one of the best McLaren road cars ever made – this is one of the best performance cars in the last few years.
Price new: £261,555 (coupé), £285,450 (Spider) Price now: From £260k (coupé) & £310k (Spider) Rivals: Porsche 911 GT2 RS, Lamborghini Aventador SV, Ferrari 458 Speciale/Aperta Heritage: The first LT of the modern era. Inspired by the F1 Longtail. Lighter, faster – and yes a bit longer…