Teacher's Pet

They might be the two most impressive supercar debuts in recent memory: the Ford GT and McLaren 720S. Pavement-rippling acceleration, obscene levels of confidence-inspiring grip, and the apocalyptic racket they make at full throttle. So which one is better? Angus MacKenzie drove them back to back in the same week. His observations follow.

Getting Schooled by a 710-HP Supercar

- Angus MacKenzie

Driving, insist the folks at McLaren, is a pastime that should be invested in and improved. And they’re true to their word: Invest $285,794 in the 2018 McLaren 720S, and you’ll probably find yourself driving smoother and faster than you ever have before, both on the track and on your favorite deserted back road.

This new McLaren is as scintillatingly quick as you’d expect a 710-hp supercar to be. But with all that power comes a chassis that both flatters and encourages drivers, regardless of their ability behind the wheel. Push yourself, and the 720S responds. More important, though, it supports, as well. It’s like the gifted teacher who brings out the best in every student.

McLaren says 91 percent of the 720S’ parts are new, though the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 mounted amidships is an evolution of the 3.8-liter engine that powered 2011’s MP4-12C—progenitor of the company’s current sports car lineup. The basic vehicle concept is similar, too. The 720S is built around a carbon-fiber tub that is the attachment point for a computer-controlled active suspension.

The aggressively cab-forward exterior design is driven by aerodynamics. Air is directed over the top of the front fenders and into two deep channels on either side of the cockpit. Those channels lead to two radiators mounted ahead of the rear wheels. The channels then sweep around the C-pillars, where the air flowing through them helps extract heated air. Up front, where most supercars have faired-in headlights, the 720S has two large vents that funnel air through radiators mounted just ahead of the front wheels, and the headlights are mounted vertically within the vents. This design element polarized opinion when the 720S was unveiled. In real life, it works, functionally and visually.