Roadster features a roof that can give three different types of driving experience.
So what is making this Macca special?
After introducing the all-new 720S in Coupe form last year, McLaren has announced the Spider derivative of its revamped Super Series family.
The 720S Spider sports a retractable hard-top with a carbonfibre structure that can open or close in 11sec at speeds of no more than 50kph. That’s quite a quick operation by standards of roadsters.
But what is making the 720S Spider more special is the ability of the roof to be either tinted or transparent by the user. This helps add a third dimension to the car’s driving experience.
Because of this lightweight roof, McLaren says the 720S Spider is just 49kg heavier than its fixed-top sibling.
Can it be just as quick as the Coupe?
In the typical McLaren fashion, yes. Powered by the same 720hp 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, the 720S Spider is claimed to accelerate from 0-100kph in an identical 2.9sec.
That should be considered quite an achievement because roadsters from other brands usually hold a 0.1sec disadvantage over their coupe relatives when it comes to this acceleration time.
The Ferrari 488 Pista, for one, also comes with 720hp of V8 turbo power, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, rear-wheel drive and 2.9sec record. However, the open-top 488 Pista Spider is a tenth-of-a-second slower.
While the 720S Spider tips the scales at 1,332kg, its rival from Maranello is slightly porkier at 1,385kg.
So it’s game on!
You could say so. While the 720S is considered as a “regular” model, the 488 Pista is a go-faster derv of an existing model (the plainly called 488).
Which is why Ferrari is reportedly gearing up to launch the all-new replacement for the 488 before the end of this decade.
Another rival in the 30 million baht corner of open-top supercars is the Lamborghini Huracan Performante which holds a similar marketing status as the 488 Pista.
Likewise, the Spyder version of the Huracan Performante is slower than its hard-top sibling in the 0-100kph test. However, the Spyder’s 3.1sec time represents a wider 0.2sec difference.
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