McLaren has mastered the art of building world-beating supercars and it seems their PR team has similarly mastered the art of teasing the brand's ardent fans. Fresh off the debut of three limited-edition 720S Spa 68 Collection versions of the 720S, McLaren has now released a teaser video that hints at another new addition to the lineup.
The video reveals little in the way of details that can concretely point to a new model specification, but the colors, layout, and location of a pair of top-exit exhaust tips certainly seem to suggest that a new version of the 600LT is on the way. Of course, McLaren is a company that realized early on that the market demand for limited runs of souped-up supercars has no apparent end. The 600LT already proved that point, becoming the fourth car ever to earn the Longtail designation.
McLaren describes the 600LT as "The fastest, most powerful and most extreme – yet road legal – Sports Series. Ever." Those are bold words from a company that shocked the world when they unveiled the F1 back in the 1990s. And though shock value for yet another perfect supercar seems like it might, at the onset, be subject to the law of diminishing returns, the radical nature of the 600LT suggests that, perhaps, that law might need revision.
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The forthcoming LT, regardless of its official nomenclature, looks quite similar to the current 600LT. Top-exit exhaust pipes have the combined benefit of allowing the 600LT's 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 to enjoy some optimized exhalations, while simultaneously allowing for an even more radical rear diffuser design to help achieve maximum downforce.
Downforce, as a component of track performance, is the name of the Longtail game, which McLaren traces all the way back to the original McLaren F1 GTR Longtail, the first of its name. Based loosely on the 570S, while stealing the lightweight braking and suspension setup of the 720S, the 600LT shaves over 210 pounds off its base model while improving driving dynamics thanks to the long, sleek aero profile. The new clip seems to hint at a potential 600LT in convertible form, even if the concept of a Spider with a long tail seems counter to the whole concept. But who knows, maybe McLaren has realized that enough of their track monsters never see anything but city streets and that enough of their customers would willingly take on a few additional pounds in exchange a few additional sunny days of top-down driving.