Canyon-carver to night-on-the-town in one sleek package.

FAITHFUL READERS KNOW THAT I AM A BIG FAN OF THIS BRITISH BRAND.
McLarens always feel faster than their specifications, meaning that they may accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in under three seconds, but they feel like they’re even quicker than that. And, after all, isn’t that what most of us want from performance? I mean, top speed is great and all that but for the daily stoplight grand prix, initial acceleration is the trump card.

I am writing this early in July, having just returned from the Monaco Grand Prix, where I watched McLaren dominate that race and several others since, so it was an absolutely perfect time to borrow their Earth-bound rocket, the 750S Coupe.

McLaren classifies their cars into three categories:

• Supercars: Artura (coupe and spider) and 750S (coupe and spider), with base prices from about $255,000 to about $345,000
• GTs: GTS, with a base price of about $220,000
• Ultimates: W1, Elva, Senna and Senna GTR, and Speedtail, with base prices from about $1.7 million to about $2.25 million

Luckily for me, this story is about the 2025 McLaren 750S, which I was lucky enough to borrow for several days just weeks after watching McLaren take first and third pole positions at at the 2025 Monaco F1 Grand Prix.

Let’s start with the looks. The car looks fast as it’s sleek, low, and seems to have been sculpted by the wind. As much as I like open-top cars, the coupe looks even more streamlined. With extra carbon fiber bits and optional front fender vents, “my” Mantis Green machine looks both elegant and menacing, the perfect blend for a 740-horsepower machine with a dry weight of just over 2,800 pounds that can whip from zero to 60 miles per hour in about 2.8 seconds. (The car pictured in this article is McLaren’s racing team’s color, Papaya Orange). Clearly the body is writing checks that the engine, the seven-speed transmission and suspension, are more than ready to cash.

The purpose-built interior adds to the visual excitement – in my case with more carbon fiber add-ons (the Carbon Fiber Interior Pack adds about $8,750 and the 750S’ Performance Interior Pack comes with a $9,400 price tag). The beautiful speaker grills, part of the excellent Bowers & Wilkins 12-speaker audio system ($5,400), green contrast stitching (plus $850), and other accoutrements make the business office of this performance machine both serious and gorgeous.

Add a few more bells and a couple of whistles, like the Exterior Details Carbon Fiber
Pack ($10,780) and the base price of $343,500 accelerates to $426,750.

I am not sure that it’s sufficient to say what it’s like to “drive” this car, as I felt more like I was wearing it, somewhat like an exoskeleton. And I mean that in a good way as the car is so incredibly responsive that it almost sensed what I was planning to do before I did it. I love the sound and the fury of the 750S’s rear, mid-mounted dual-overhead-cam twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8, and with maximum power arriving at 7,500 RPM, it’s an incredible screamer. Some say that naturally aspirated engines (with no turbos) sound better than the rest, but the 750S creates an aria that comes directly from the car gods.

McLaren says that this is their lightest and most-powerful series production supercar ever and it sure feels it. Its stunning beauty is matched only by its incredible performance. With 740 horsepower, it has almost 30 more ponies than the model it replaces (the 720S), and it also weighs about 65 pounds less than its predecessor. Whether on the freeway, the boulevards, Mulholland Highway, or the twisties of the Malibu canyon roads, the 750S is completely at home and a joy to experience.