RE: McLaren 720S Spider: The Long Read

[theDOCTOR]

garyhun said:

theDOCTOR said:

garyhun said:

Gameface said:

CraigyMc said:

WJNB said:

Fabulous car, fabulous colour, pity the interior is a bit kit-car with overwhelming acres of bleak grey Alcantra stuff. But hurrah it's so BRITISH wave the St Georges flag everybody.

Scotsman checking in.

Pull your head out of your arse.

It’s English anyway

I think you will find more than half owned by Mumtalakat Holding Company, as English as jellied eels (Not!!!)

For the purposes of this discussion, built in Surrey = English

for the purpose of reality its Arabian

[E65Ross]

theDOCTOR said:

garyhun said:

theDOCTOR said:

garyhun said:

Gameface said:

CraigyMc said:

WJNB said:

Fabulous car, fabulous colour, pity the interior is a bit kit-car with overwhelming acres of bleak grey Alcantra stuff. But hurrah it's so BRITISH wave the St Georges flag everybody.

Scotsman checking in.

Pull your head out of your arse.

It’s English anyway

I think you will find more than half owned by Mumtalakat Holding Company, as English as jellied eels (Not!!!)

For the purposes of this discussion, built in Surrey = English

for the purpose of reality its Arabian

if you say so. It doesn't matter that it's designed in England, built in England by English employees then

[theDOCTOR]

E65Ross said:

theDOCTOR said:

garyhun said:

theDOCTOR said:

garyhun said:

Gameface said:

CraigyMc said:

WJNB said:

Fabulous car, fabulous colour, pity the interior is a bit kit-car with overwhelming acres of bleak grey Alcantra stuff. But hurrah it's so BRITISH wave the St Georges flag everybody.

Scotsman checking in.

Pull your head out of your arse.

It’s English anyway

I think you will find more than half owned by Mumtalakat Holding Company, as English as jellied eels (Not!!!)

For the purposes of this discussion, built in Surrey = English

for the purpose of reality its Arabian

if you say so. It doesn't matter that it's designed in England, built in England by English employees then

My cousin works there and he's scottish and a lot of his colleagues are from mainland Europe . and you could also say the same about landrover, morgan,lotus etc, Next you will be saying the queen mum founded it ?

[anonymous-user]

theDOCTOR said:

for the purpose of reality its Arabian

Like German Rollers ?

Or Indian Range Rovers ?

Or Pistonheads bellends ?

And is Arabian actually a real modern day descriptor ?

[theDOCTOR]

Brooking10 said:

theDOCTOR said:

for the purpose of reality its Arabian

Like German Rollers ?

Or Indian Range Rovers ?

Or Pistonheads bellends ?

And is Arabian actually a real modern day descriptor ?

Bahraini, is that better for your modern thinking? And as far as bellends go, ill give you that one, you do have the majority shareholding in that not a lot else

[Carl_Manchester]

WJNB said:

Fabulous car, fabulous colour, pity the interior is a bit kit-car with overwhelming acres of bleak grey Alcantra stuff. But hurrah it's so BRITISH wave the St Georges flag everybody.

it can look bleak in photos but i would prefer this over a leather setup due to practicality in the sun and cold.

maybe a technical fabric like porsche do would be a nice compromise but i don’t know if Macca do that yet.

[ReaperCushions]

Carl_Manchester said:

WJNB said:

Fabulous car, fabulous colour, pity the interior is a bit kit-car with overwhelming acres of bleak grey Alcantra stuff. But hurrah it's so BRITISH wave the St Georges flag everybody.

it can look bleak in photos but i would prefer this over a leather setup due to practicality in the sun and cold.

maybe a technical fabric like porsche do would be a nice compromise but i don’t know if Macca do that yet.

I agree on the bleakness.... I don't think anyone can possibly say this is inviting:



Yes weight saving and such things... but honestly... I'd prefer a splash of color at least. White leather seats... or Tan with a Green exterior.

[anonymous-user]

theDOCTOR said:

Bahraini, is that better for your modern thinking? And as far as bellends go, ill give you that one, you do have the majority shareholding in that not a lot else

How’s your McLaren doc ?

[Nerdherder]

Brooking10 said:

theDOCTOR said:

Bahraini, is that better for your modern thinking? And as far as bellends go, ill give you that one, you do have the majority shareholding in that not a lot else

How’s your McLaren doc ?

Anyway, it’s funny to see how divisive alcantara is. Luckily it can be specified to taste.
I don’t get the comment on cramped footspace, can someone with similar experience elaborate on this? I had no problem at all fitting in a 540 very comfortably (being 182cm long), is a 720 that much different?

[tokyo_mb]

Nice write up. Surprising to find you drove this car along the B4368 (probably past my door). While it's a fun road to drive, and attracts a lot of weekend bikers, it's not exactly pothole-free or well surfaced (sadly).

That said, the roads of South Shropshire and mid-Wales certainly make for some enjoyable driving - given limited traffic and great scenery.

[theDOCTOR]

Brooking10 said:

How’s your McLaren doc ?

I sold my 650 spider as it was loosing money quicker than one of Donald Trumps casinos and still hanker after my old 996 GT2. To be fare while biblically quick, for a 220K machine I was not that impressed by the bubbling paintwork, not being able to get out of the car as the door kept on sticking/locked , the windows a well know problem, along with the screen cracking 3 times in the first year at the bottom where it attached and the hassle to get this fixed on every occasion. Again, thanks for asking . And if McLaren thought their cars were that good and reliable, why do they not support them? it may help with residuals as no doubt you will find as i did when trying to change out of it.

[anonymous-user]

theDOCTOR said:

I sold my 650 spider as it was loosing money quicker than one of Donald Trumps casinos and still hanker after my old 996 GT2. To be fare while biblically quick, for a 220K machine I was not that impressed by the bubbling paintwork, not being able to get out of the car as the door kept on sticking/locked , the windows a well know problem, along with the screen cracking 3 times in the first year at the bottom where it attached and the hassle to get this fixed on every occasion. Again, thanks for asking . And if McLaren thought their cars were that good and reliable, why do they not support them? it may help with residuals as no doubt you will find as i did when trying to change out of it.

Seeing as you pulled me up for calling McLaren an English company, I’ll just state that the words you are looking for are ‘losing’ and ‘fair’.

Glad to be of educational assistance

[theDOCTOR]

garyhun said:

Seeing as you pulled me up for calling McLaren an English company, I’ll just state that the words you are looking for are ‘losing’ and ‘fair’.

Glad to be of educational assistance

I always try to expand my knowledge at every opportunity, although I normally like to be taught by experts not a teaching assistant. but thanks for your efforts.

[E65Ross]

theDOCTOR said:

garyhun said:

Seeing as you pulled me up for calling McLaren an English company, I’ll just state that the words you are looking for are ‘losing’ and ‘fair’.

Glad to be of educational assistance

I always try to expand my knowledge at every opportunity, although I normally like to be taught by experts not a teaching assistant. but thanks for your efforts.

You shouldn't be so picky, you should just be willing to learn from anyone.

[mikey k]

ManyMotors said:

Generally, how can anyone not like the 720S Spider? It's performance is unquestioned. With the open top, the cabin gets to be less claustrophobic though it is still very tight. And where is the leg room? This car is ideal for a Sunday morning blast among cows though would have problems delivering anything above 50 miles of travel. And then there's the looks - or lack of - it needs more than "Body by Mattel".

You need to do a decent distance in a McLaren.
All their interiors are very ergonomic. I've done 25k in my two and decent distances in 5 and 7 series cars. I've found them to be very comfortable on track and across Europe. IME the 720 works better with the race seats, they just hold you in the twisties a lot better. The interior is well planned, every thing close to hand, stylish and loads of light.

[mikey k]

jason61c said:

Nice colour combo. That dash pods looks like a £10k kit car job though

That and the eye sockets are my biggest issues with this car. The 5 and 6 series cars just look so much nicer.

[mikey k]

Carl_Manchester said:

it can look bleak in photos but i would prefer this over a leather setup due to practicality in the sun and cold.

maybe a technical fabric like porsche do would be a nice compromise but i don’t know if Macca do that yet.

That's part of the issue with alcantara
It sucks the light out. My 675 has a mix but mainly leather and a light headliner. It makes all the difference.

[easytiger123]

Keep trying to talk myself into buying the coupe version. It's a fk of a lot of car for the £170k ish that barely used ones are being offered at. The looks have not grown on me (is there another car that is more colour and spec dependent on influencing the look than a 720? Some look pretty good and others just gopping), but the performance and relative practicality are very tempting. The horror stories about the odd total lemon have thus far put me off. I guess buying one with slightly higher mileage is probably the way to go.

[mikey k]

tokyo_mb said:

Nice write up. Surprising to find you drove this car along the B4368 (probably past my door). While it's a fun road to drive, and attracts a lot of weekend bikers, it's not exactly pothole-free or well surfaced (sadly).

That said, the roads of South Shropshire and mid-Wales certainly make for some enjoyable driving - given limited traffic and great scenery.

I also live and work in that area. I been down the Clun road and many of the other local roads in both of mine. The beauty of the 6 & 7 series is the hydraulic suspension. In comfort mode it rides better than a BMW 5 series. It's one of the reasons I stick to McLaren. No way any of its peers would cope as well.

[mikey k]

theDOCTOR said:

I sold my 650 spider as it was loosing money quicker than one of Donald Trumps casinos and still hanker after my old 996 GT2. To be fare while biblically quick, for a 220K machine I was not that impressed by the bubbling paintwork, not being able to get out of the car as the door kept on sticking/locked , the windows a well know problem, along with the screen cracking 3 times in the first year at the bottom where it attached and the hassle to get this fixed on every occasion. Again, thanks for asking . And if McLaren thought their cars were that good and reliable, why do they not support them? it may help with residuals as no doubt you will find as i did when trying to change out of it.

By contrast I've done 25k miles in my 650 and 675 in just under 3 years all over Europe. Neither let me done or suffered with paint issues. Yes the had a few niggles but no more so that any other new car I've had. Worth also remembering they have only been mass producing road cars for 7 years!