The McLaren 720 is an ugly car.

[daytona111r]

I feel the 720 is one of those cars where your own opinion over its looks will change over the years, like an E60 5 series or 360m. Hated both of them on launch and took 5 years to love them. Certainly don't love the 720 yet, but especially in that metallic red it certainly looks better than it did a few months ago.

[hondansx]

I think it's a grower; needs to be in the right colour too.

It does look very futuristic and advanced though - makes a 488 look quite dated.

They are also silly fast, which helps compensate!

[thegreenhell]

Gatefold said:

This thread is pretty useless without pictures.

12c


720s


There are a couple of variants missing but this covers most of them since 2010, roughly chronologically.

I think this just shows how good-looking the original 12C was.

Some people will says it's plain and boring compared to the newer cars, and that a supercar needs to be covered in slashes, vents and wings. I'd disagree with them, but then I'm not 12 years old anymore.

[Streetrod]

When the 12C first came out many people complained that it was too plain and not supercar enough. At the time I said its design would age well and I stand by that statement. It has a simple elegance which is rare nowadays.

The 720s takes the McLaren design language in a completely new direction that does not pander to what has gone before and I for congratulate McLaren for having the guts to dare to be different, you are never going to mistake it for another supercar.

I personally feel that if a supercar maker is not courting controversy with its designs then it is not trying hard enough, I am pointing my finger at you Ferrari.

It will be really interesting to see how McLaren develop this design language into the new BP23 hypercar

[Davey S2]

thegreenhell said:

I think this just shows how good-looking the original 12C was.

Some people will says it's plain and boring compared to the newer cars, and that a supercar needs to be covered in slashes, vents and wings. I'd disagree with them, but then I'm not 12 years old anymore.

I like the 12C but always thought it looked far better with the MSO front bumper.



Should have made this the standard design IMO

[culpz]

I don't think any of the McLaren's are particularly beautiful, IMO. Although, in their defense, i don't think that's what they were ever going for anyway. They all get a bit too fussy and complicated with the styling, on these newer ones, for me. Personally, I think the 12C looked the best out of all of them.

[Yipper]

culpz said:

I don't think any of the McLaren's are particularly beautiful, IMO. Although, in their defense, i don't think that's what they were ever going for anyway. They all get a bit too fussy and complicated with the styling, on these newer ones, for me. Personally, I think the 12C looked the best out of all of them.

The 12C is a hideous-looking car.

But you can see why they style McLarens like they do. It is to differentiate from major rivals.

Ferrari = curvy.
Lambo = wedgy.
McLaren = wavy.

[Steven_RW]

P1 in track mode with right paint and wheel combo looks amazing.

I am also happy enough with how the 720s looks. I see the point people are making but I don't see enough negative to make me think it would put me off.

Cheers

RW

[culpz]

Yipper said:

The 12C is a hideous-looking car.

But you can see why they style McLarens like they do. It is to differentiate from major rivals.

Ferrari = curvy;
Lambo = wedgy;
McLaren = wavy.

In your opinion, obviously.

As i said, i wouldn't say it was McLaren's goal to make the prettiest supercar out there. That would lie with the Italians and they would struggle to compete with that, for sure.

To me, McLaren has always been more about functionality over form. The 12C was always the usable supercar which definitely caused a debate on what a supercar is and should be.

[The Surveyor]

culpz said:

Yipper said:

The 12C is a hideous-looking car.

But you can see why they style McLarens like they do. It is to differentiate from major rivals.

Ferrari = curvy;
Lambo = wedgy;
McLaren = wavy.

In your opinion, obviously.

As i said, i wouldn't say it was McLaren's goal to make the prettiest supercar out there. That would lie with the Italians and they would struggle to compete with that, for sure.

To me, McLaren has always been more about functionality over form. The 12C was always the usable supercar which definitely caused a debate on what a supercar is and should be.

Yipper is of course very wrong and culpz is on the right track.

The 12c is not hideous, if it deserves any criticism at all it was for being too 'safe' in it's styling.

Much like when Honda launched the first NSK to compete with Ferrari, they needed to avoid gimmicks and focus on the engineering integrity to ensure they were taken seriously. Now they have established the brand, they have more freedom to push the boundaries and this is what they've done with the 720s. It's looks are certainly subjective and whilst its not pretty in the traditional sense, but it's dramatic and that's what most supercar buyers are looking for IMHO.

[The Surveyor]

poing said:

I just wish they would use names and not numbers for each model. They are all just a sea of random numbers to me, I'm sure it's the power or something but I'd rather buy a name and not the one with biggest number. I guess 4 cars with different names that all look the same would be equally as pointless.

But you have an MX5, 4 different cars built over a 30 year period but all with the same name, how confusing is that !

[BlackLabel]

If all supercars (or any car for that matter) looked the same it would be a boring world we lived in.

Ferrari, Lambo, McLaren, Porsche etc don’t all look the same, sure within each manufacturer they have similar looking cars but the vast differences between the marques makes things more interesting - there’s something out there for everyone’s tastes.

[LeftAtOrion]

I like it, seeing so many of them cutting round Woking helps I guess, I do think they need to be seen ‘in the flesh’. Each to their own and all that.

[RyanTank]

Gonna be honest here, didn't think this thread was going to go my way looks like I didn't need the flame suit after all

Should have added in my original post that I have seen one in the flesh recently and thus prompted my thread.

Streetrod said:

Oh and by the way, if you are having trouble identifing the different cars may I suggest a visit to SpecSavers

had an appointment recently, 20:20 vision confirmed once again what do you suggest now as I still don't know which is which?

F1GTRUeno said:

If you're actually petrolheads you'll know the difference straight away

what a daft statement. I wouldnt consider myself a fanboy of any particular exotic marque but feel pretty confident in having some sort of idea as to model types.

F1GTRUeno said:

People drone on and on about cars all looking the same but if you actually can't see the difference and you're not being overly dramatic on an internet forum then I'd suggest not getting behind a wheel again.

Bit of a strong statement that isn't it!?

Aside from the 720 & P1 I have no idea what other McLaren's have passed me lately. I mean I know these are all diferent models but when seeing one on the opposite carriageway or heading towards me there's no way I could identify it as easily as say a 911 GT3/ V8-V12 Vantage/ Huracan/ Gallardo/ Aventador etc etc etc.
Maybe most of us don't care about what exotic just passed you, but here in deepest darkest Wales, when a nice car passes by it doesn't go unnoticed







Genuinely no idea which is which with exception of the P1. I see the differences aside from obvious headlight shapes but other than that I couldnt tell the 650 from a 570

[poing]

The Surveyor said:

poing said:

I just wish they would use names and not numbers for each model. They are all just a sea of random numbers to me, I'm sure it's the power or something but I'd rather buy a name and not the one with biggest number. I guess 4 cars with different names that all look the same would be equally as pointless.

But you have an MX5, 4 different cars built over a 30 year period but all with the same name, how confusing is that !

In other words, exactly the same as almost every car. The Ford Fiesta, the Porsche 911 (yes I know Porsche use their own number but we all know it as the 911), the VW Golf.

I'd rather McLaren had 2 or 3 defined models with a particular focus to each. They can then make variations of each, again this is normal and understandable.

I suspect if I was suddenly wealthy enough to buy one I might not give a st about the name so it's all just pissing in the wind really.

[Targarama]

The 720 is a pretty imposing car in the flesh. I do agree that different McLaren models look similar, but this is a petrolhead forum, so work it out. The vast majority of people love to see a McLaren so they must be doing something right.

Here's my McLaren something or other about to have some fun. I forget which model, they all look the same. I don't care



Then having a rest after a good rub down that evening

[soad]

Some say opinions are overrated.

[swisstoni]

If you see one in real life, in a street setting, they look good. Also the hollow eye-socket look makes more sense when you see it. Hard to explain.

[Streetrod]

So Ryan

If you are unable to tell the difference between the two current McLaren ranges which consists of only 5 cars, how the hell do you tell the difference between the 21 different 911 variants current on sale? It must confuse the hell out of you

[The Surveyor]

poing said:

........
I'd rather McLaren had 2 or 3 defined models with a particular focus to each. They can then make variations of each, again this is normal and understandable.
.......

You mean like the Sports Series (540 and 570) and the Super Series (720)... ! The McLaren range really isn't as complex as people make out.