Yahoo Autos Lightning Lap 2018: McLaren 720S
Lap Time: 2:39.7
Class: LL5 | Base Price: $311,815 | As-Tested Price: $376,465
Power and Weight: 710 hp • 3158 lb • 4.4 lb/hp
Tires: Pirelli P Zero Corsa PZC4, F: 245/35ZR-19 (93Y) R: 305/30ZR-20 (103Y)
Were the McLaren 650S a blisteringly fast but distant greyhound and the 570S a golden-retriever puppy eager to wag its tail in every corner, then the 720S would be what you’d get from selective breeding. With 710 horsepower, this McLaren hit 171.7 mph on the front straight, an all-time Lightning Lap record. Other LL trophies in the 720S’s case: fastest entry into the Climbing Esses (152.0 mph) and fastest exits out of Spiral (85.0) and Hog Pen (118.5).
This dog is clearly a runner, but it’ll also pull 1.12 g’s in Horse Shoe and rotate with poise under braking, albeit with some opposite-lock correction while trailing past turn-in. The steering is feathery in weight but hefty in feedback. Sightlines from the driver’s seat rival those of the everyday-useful Porsche 911. Shifts are as crisp as fresh celery. An audible alarm warns of the impending rev cut, so, unlike in the Lambo, we never missed a shift in the McLaren.
The 720S is wonderfully fun and scary fast. On our first flying lap, when we’re supposed to be relearning the track, the 720S ran quicker than the 650S from three years ago. On the fifth lap, it was within half a second of the (then) all-time Lightning Lap record-the 2:43.0 set by the Ford GT at LL 11.5. This McLaren was destined for greatness.
But all that might couldn’t make up for its minute deficits in the tire department. Power-on understeer rears its ugly head coming into Roller Coaster and even in Hog Pen at the end of a hot lap when the tires are greasiest. The car McLaren sent us rode on Pirelli P Zero Corsa PZC4s. The even more aggressive Trofeo R will soon be available, but unfortunately, those sticky mitts weren’t at VIR for our test. We’d bet that those tires would have lopped full seconds off the 720S’s lap. On any other day, a 2:39.7 would have been good enough to secure the title, but this year, we had two other cars-fellow members of the 700 Club wearing very formidable tires-that had something to say about that.
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