If you want to understand the exotic enthusiast and what kind of cars appeal to him or her, the McLaren 765LT is the ultimate reference point. It has everything an exotic enthusiast wants—and insists needs—in a supercar today. Absurdly low ground clearance? Check. Limited production release? Check. Ridiculous performance you can best appreciate on a track? Check.
Yet among supercars, fulfilling criteria like this is nothing special—it's a given. And after facing off against several worthy rivals including the Lamborghini Huracán Evo and Ferrari F8 Tributo, the 765LT's complete package makes it the clear winner for HotCars' supercar pick of 2021.
What We Love Most About The McLaren 765LT Supercar
McLaren's road-legal LT models are important to the brand's ethos. Short for "Longtail," the idea behind them is simple: more performance, high downforce, and aerodynamic features.
The 765LT's exterior is a manifestation of McLaren honoring this approach. It's visible throughout the car's exterior, including the extended front splitter, active rear wing, and large diffuser. Compared to the McLaren 720S, the 765LT weighs 176 pounds less, clocking in at a total dry weight of 2,709 pounds. If the 765LT isn't the culmination of McLaren's Longtail profile, it's hard to imagine how things get any better from here.
Underneath all that carbon fiber and aerodynamic profile is a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 that generates 755 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. According to McLaren, the 765LT zooms from nil to 60 mph in just 2.7 seconds. We're still trying to wrap our heads around the notion this track-oriented weapon is actually street-legal.
Why It's The Supercar To Beat
The 765LT faces off against an impressive rogues' gallery of competitors such as the Lamborghini Huracán Evo, Ferrari F8 Tributo, and Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series.
From a pure acceleration standpoint, the 765LT can crush the F8 on the strip and, considering that Ferrari is just a facelifted 488 (albeit, a gorgeous one at that), the McLaren has the otherworldly aesthetics to boot. And while the GT Black Series is a Nürburgring record-setter with the price and performance to match the 765LT, it lacks the same soundtrack McLaren's full titanium quad-exit exhaust brings.
Admittedly, we like the Evo RWD's entry level price point compared to the 765LT—a difference of around $150,000—but the Lambo's V10 5.2-liter V10 gets you fewer horsepower and a 0.4-second longer sprint time. Even the limited production Lamborghini Aventador SV with a 10-second head start failed to beat a 765LT, further cementing the 765LT as a formidable racer on the strip.
Worthy Of Mention: McLaren 765LT Spider
McLaren pushed the 765LT even further by releasing another 765 units in Spider form, making it McLaren's most powerful convertible yet. Those expecting the 765LT Spider to pile on significant weight compared to the coupe were pleasantly surprised, with only an additional 108 pounds added (making it 176 pounds lighter than the 720S Spider).
A best-in-class power-to-weight ratio helps the 765LT Spider stand out among competitors such as the Lamborghini Huracán STO, and a 15-percent quicker in-gear acceleration makes it McLaren's fastest accelerating LT Spider of all time.
A few things make the 765LT Spider special. The convertible uses parts from the McLaren Senna including carbon fiber race seats, engine head gasket, and valve train. Eight electric motors power the roof, which convert it in 11 seconds in speeds of up to 31 mph.
What We Loved Watching The 765LT Do In 2021
There was no shortage of content covering this coveted, high-performance supercar throughout the year. And while it's an exotic in the truest sense that it rolls off the production line ready to race with no mods required, that didn't stop performance houses from tuning the supercar even more.
We loved Hennessey's upgraded 765LT that gets around 1,000 horsepower at the crank. Additionally, M Engineering gave the 765LT an ECU tune and custom downpipes to push the supercar into 8-second quarter-mile territory.
As previously mentioned, the 765LT shined on the strip, and we could reference countless times the McLaren supercar impressed us. But perhaps our favorite instance happened on Brooks Weisblat's DragTimes YouTube channel when the 765LT faced off against not one, but two very different Dodge Challenger SRT Demons. The first one was stock, which the 765LT managed to decimate in three races. The real test came when it went up against a Demon tuned to 1,200 horsepower—and proved even the McLaren could beat a drag strip legend.
As the 765LT continues to thrill us on strips and tracks closing out 2021, we look forward to witnessing what the future holds for this modern legend.