After McLaren launched the extremely fast 650S they didn't sit back and have a cup of tea and wait until it was time to make the next F1 car. No, first they took the 650S and gave the 3.8L twin-turbo V8 25 more horsepower, taking it to 675 hp. Then they stripped out the interior, adding carbon shelled seats. And then they gave it thinner glass, thinner paint, a plastic rear window and a new exhaust. In total, they shaved 100 kg off the car. Then they gave it new aerodynamics, including a rear wing that is 50% larger. Finally, they gave it a name steeped in McLaren history – 675LT. The LT is for Long Tail, after the long tail F1 GTR that won LeMans in its first attempt.
But McLaren didn't think that even the 675LT was enough so they've taken it a step further with this, their newest offering, the MSO Carbon Series LT, based on the retractable top 675LT Spider. MSO stands for McLaren Special Operations, and that gives you an idea of just how exceptional this car is. They decided that owners prefer to see all of the beautiful carbon weave hiding on their new hypercars, and as a bonus no paint is even lighter than thin paint. The 675LT isn't a fully carbon machine, mind you, so they fixed that too – by replacing the rest of the bodywork with carbon. A "regular" 675LT has carbon for the front bumper, splitter, underbody tray side skirts, intakes lower body, rear fenders, deck, bumper, diffuser and air brake. The MSO Carbon Series LT gets everything else you can see replaced with bare carbon fibre.
In addition to the carbon, the car has a Track Telemetry package that gives the owner three cameras to record their heroic antics or – like Jenson Button on this week's Top Gear – landscaping misadventures. The package also includes extensive vehicle telemetry and lap timing functions, all of it downloadable for later review.
A new weight figure wasn't quoted, but the extra carbon should make a noticeable difference. McLaren quotes the same 2.9 second 0–100 km/h time and 203 mph (327 km/h) top speed. One thing McLaren won't be lightening, however, is your wallet – all 50 examples of the MSO Carbon Series LT are already spoken for.
