McLaren knocks it out of the park again with the 720S Spider convertible

Enlarge (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

Although we make every effort to cover our own travel costs, in this case McLaren flew us to Phoenix to drive the 720S Spider (and the 600LT Spider; we published that one last week) and provided two nights in a hotel.

In 2016, we tested the McLaren 650S Spider, a carbon-fiber drop-top supercar we thought was so clever it deserved a PhD. But three years is a long time in the supercar world, and the 650S is old news. Meet the McLaren 720S Spider. It, too, is made from carbon fiber. But now, instead of a 3.8L twin-turbo V8, there’s a more powerful 4.0L twin-turbo V8. The car also has an all-new roof mechanism that goes up or down in just 11 seconds.

At the same time, the new model is lighter than the outgoing Spider (by 83lbs/38kg), making it the lightest car in its class (compared to the Ferrari Pista Spider, Lamborghini Huracan Performante Spyder, or the Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster). It’s stupendously fast and extremely eye-catching—both qualities you’d want if you were spending $315,000 on a supercar. But it’s also amazingly easy to drive, civilized to live with, and even pretty good on gas, considering it’s capable of hitting 60mph in 2.8 seconds before topping out at 212mph (341km/h).