If the 720S Goes to 11, the 2024 McLaren 750S Dials It Up to 12

• Newest McLaren improves almost everything from the 720S from which it was derived.

• Power is up by 30 hp to 740, torque by 22 lb-ft to 590.

• Available in coupe or spider, starting at $331,740.

The new McLaren 750S takes everything you loved about the 720S and makes it even better.

Now, if you wanted to be a brazen cynic desperately trying to impress passersby at your local Cars and Coagulants with your insider knowledge you’d say, “It’s just a 720S, you know…” letting your voice trail off as passersby try to ignore you because you’re missing the point!

Why remake the entire thing when you can just improve the things that’ll make a great car even better? That’s the essence of what McLaren has done with the new 750S seven years after debuting the 720S.

“The goal for the 750S was to take that benchmark supercar and really raise the bar,” said Chief Engineer Sandy Holford, who may have the best job in the world. “We focused on enhancing agility, feedback and connection, and that sense of fun behind the wheel.

“We combined the best elements of a 720S and the 765LT, the fun factor of our longtail products, combined with true everyday usability. This has broadened the capability of the car to cover an even wider dynamic range from comfort and versatility through to all-out track performance.”

Those last three things—comfort, versatility, and all-out track performance—were what I’d get to experience during a long day behind the wheel of this modern marvel.

The engine is an evolution of the M840T twin-turbo V8 that debuted on the 650 and can even trace its roots back to the MP4 12C (and even earlier to the Tom Walkinshaw Racing Nissan R390 GT1 intended for Le Mans).

They cranked up the boost pressure, added lightweight pistons, two fuel pumps, “bespoke calibration,” and installed a triple-layer head gasket to keep it all together. Output now sits at 740 SAE horsepower (750 DIN, thus the model name), and 590 lb-ft of torque. That’s an increase in 30 hp and 22 lb-ft over the 720.

That’s mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch SSG (Seamless Shift Gearbox) with a 15% shorter final drive. The shorter final drive means the car gets to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds, compared to 2.8 for the 720S. It also means top speed drops from 212 mph to 206, but we all have our crosses to bear.

The carbon-fiber MonoCage II tub, aluminum extrusions, and the doors, glass, and roof are carryover, but the front and rear bodywork are further optimized to combine maximum downforce with the lowest-possible drag. The suspension geometry is also carryover except for six millimeters more width on the front pickup points.

The steering ratio is quicker while the springs are 3% softer in front and 4% stiffer in the rear. Both the dampers and the Pro-Active Chassis Control III have also been “optimized” for better response and performance.

Curb weight is down by 66 pounds to 3062, but that’s measured on the European DIN scale, so ours will be a little heavier.

You now have a choice of three tire models for your 750S. While you could only get the Pirelli P Zero and the P Zero Corsa on the 720 S, you now have a choice of: Pirelli Trofeo Rs for high-performance driving, the P Zero for street comfort, and the Pirelli Corsa “for a really good kind of hybrid in the middle, a tire where it gives you wet performance on a track or a sportier tire if you wanted one tire to do everything, and you wanted to daily drive it as well, the Corsa’s a good option,” Holford said.

Taken together all those changes add up.