Notice: the 765LT Spider could be in a class of its own Car News

Conventional wisdom says that convertible supercars don’t make great tools for the track day, but since the 2016 675LT Spider, McLaren has essentially given the idea two fingers up.

The MonoCell composite tub used throughout the model line allows Spider derivatives to achieve more or less the same degree of torsional stiffness as coupes. And it’s that uncompromising stiffness, rather than the weight saved by not having to fully reinforce the open-top structure, that makes a small but noticeable positive difference when you wring McLaren’s Spider models on track.

At 1,388 kg, the 765LT Spider weighs 49 kg more than the 765LT Coupe, an increase of about 3%. It doesn’t seem like much, and it is very little, but even with their more steel-based architectures, alternatives from Lamborghini and Ferrari are on the verge of making it happen. (The difference tends to be around 5%.) What these rivals can’t maintain is the stiffness of the coupes they’re based on, and even in 2021, you’re still noticing that.

That’s why this 765LT is actually a pretty exciting proposition, although it would be very easy to dismiss it as another “extra special” supercar – one of which now seems to be arriving every other day.

For starters, I’m not sure there is an alternative. If you want a senior supercar that is usable enough to be driven with ease on the road, but also sharp on the track and can remove its cover on demand, what are your options?

Unless Porsche introduces an open-top GT2 RS for the 992 generation and makes it as stiff as the coupe, I don’t see any other car that can deliver what the 765LT has to offer.

In terms of precision and involvement, you’re probably looking at something like the Dallara Stradale, but honestly having to affix the canopy roof manually means the typical McLaren buyer is going to go straight ahead, and the four-cylinder Ford of the Italian car’s engine just doesn’t have enough to make it an alternative to the 765LT’s 4.0-liter V8.