The McLaren 788HS is the wildest send-off for one of the great supercar platforms
The 720S dynasty bows out with its sharpest car yet
Every great platform deserves a proper farewell, and McLaren has given its long-serving 720S architecture exactly that. The new 788HS is the most extreme and most powerful version yet, and the last car to be built on the platform that has underpinned McLaren's supercars since 2017. It is a fitting, ferocious way to close the chapter.
Lighter, and more powerful
The 788HS follows the classic McLaren formula: add power, take away weight. Its 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 produces 788 hp and 800 Nm, aided by lightweight forged pistons and revised turbochargers to sharpen response. At the same time the dry weight drops to just 1,265 kg, giving a class-leading 623 hp per tonne. The result is savage: 0-100 km/h in 2.8 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 7.0 seconds and a 330 km/h top speed.
Serious aero, serious hardware
This is no soft farewell special. The 788HS gets a comprehensive carbon-fibre aerodynamic package that generates 10 percent more downforce than the already-hardcore 765LT, complete with an F1-style diffuser, plus an advanced braking system derived from the mighty McLaren Senna and a motorsport-style centre-lock wheel setup. In other words, McLaren has thrown its best track hardware at this final car, exactly as it should for a proper HS.
A rare High Sport badge
The HS, for High Sport, badge is one McLaren uses very sparingly. Before this it had appeared on just five MP4-12C HS models and 25 MSO HS cars, so putting it on the 788HS signals real significance. Production is capped at 200 cars, split evenly between 100 coupes and 100 Spider convertibles, and the car makes its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. As the last hurrah for the 720S platform before McLaren moves to a new architecture, every one is likely to be treasured.
AutoNext Take
This is how you retire a platform. The 720S and its descendants have given us some of the finest driver's supercars of the last decade, and going out with the lightest, most powerful, most aggressive version of the lot is exactly the send-off it deserves. That McLaren has kept the recipe pure, more power, less weight, proper aero, rather than reaching for hybrid complexity, is deeply satisfying, and 623 hp per tonne is a genuinely spine-tingling number. It caps a stellar Goodwood for McLaren, which also brought the restored M6GT of founder Bruce McLaren, and joins a jaw-dropping line-up at a Festival that included the naturally aspirated V12 Apollo EVO. Bravo, and farewell to a brilliant platform.
