You know how some musicians refuse to retire and keep announcing “one final tour”? Apparently, McLaren does the same with supercars. Just when everyone thought the 750S had wrapped up the 720S story, along comes one final encore: the McLaren 788HS.
That’s right. McLaren has decided one last encore is in order, and it’d be the ultimate send-off for one of the marque’s most successful supercar families. At this point, you must be wondering what’s with the “HS” in the 788HS? Well, the “HS” stands for High Sport, a badge so exclusive that only two McLarens have worn it before. The 788HS now becomes the third, and with production capped at just 200 cars—split evenly between Coupe and Spider—it is also one of the rarest.
Power still comes from McLaren’s familiar 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8, but now it punches out 788 PS (777 hp) and 800 Nm (590 lb-ft). With a dry weight of just 1,265 kg (2,789 lb), it boasts a power-to-weight ratio of 623 PS per tonne, the highest ever achieved by the 720S, 765LT, and 750S family. The result? 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.8 seconds, 0-200 km/h (124 mph) in 7.0 seconds, and a top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph).
Naturally, McLaren did not stop at more power. The 788HS gains an all-carbon-fiber aerodynamic package with an S-Duct hood, a raised active rear spoiler, a Formula 1-inspired diffuser, Senna-derived carbon-ceramic brakes, center-lock wheels, and a glorious quad-exit titanium exhaust.
Every example will also be personalized by McLaren Special Operations, so no two are exactly alike. How’s that for exclusivity without actually limiting production to, say, just 10 cars (looking over at the Artura 1000GP)? At least this model has 200 to go around.
McLaren has not announced pricing or when order books will officially open. But I suggest you not sit around waiting for the news to drop. On the product page, there’s a “Contact Your Retailer” button, which you may want to leverage. I mean, 200 is not as little as 10, but if you really want one, you’d better be proactive.
Images: McLaren.
