The Top 5 Fastest Cars McLaren Ever Built
Nearly 40 years after it was established, McLaren Automotive is still producing top-of-the-line supercars and hypercars that live up to the reputation of its founder, New Zealand race car driver and engineer Bruce McLaren. When McLaren Automotive launched the Speedtail in 2018, it aimed to make the fastest car in its line of already-impressively powerful vehicles and one of the fastest cars from any manufacturer ever.
While no McLaren has surpassed the Bugatti Chiron Supersport 300+, which has a top speed of 304 mph and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.2 seconds, the brand is no slouch when it comes to velocity. Several McLaren models can reach top speeds of over 200 mph, like the McLaren Senna, McLaren 650S, and McLaren 12C.
But which McLaren is the fastest? Did the Speedtail live up to the company's expectations? Find out with this look at the fastest McLaren cars ever built, going by top speed (though, as you'll see, they all have acceleration speeds that are very impressive as well).
5. McLaren 720S
Let's be clear: the S in McLaren 720S does not stand for "slow." While it's the slowest car on this list, the McLaren 720S is still more hare than tortoise and can reach a top speed of 212 mph. (The McLaren 720S Spider can match that top speed with its retractable roof up, and despite increased air resistance, can still reach a considerable top speed of 202 mph with its roof down.) The 720S, launched in 2017 as part of McLaren's Super Series, is an RWD coupe with a mid-mounted 4.0L V8 bi-turbo engine in its rear, producing 710 brake horsepower and 770 Nm torque.
With lightning-fast acceleration, the McLaren 720S can go 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds and hit 124 mph within 7.8 seconds. In 10.4 seconds, it can cover a quarter mile. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the McLaren 720S isn't its incredible speed but the fact that it's not even some inaccessible hypercar. It's built for the road, so it handles just as well at normal, legal speeds as on the test track. Even better, it's still in production –- it's a car you can get for yourself and drive on the road today, provided you've got $305,000 lying around.
4. McLaren P1
What's faster than fast? The McLaren P1 exceeds the top speed of the 720S by five mph and can reach 217 mph (350 kph). Unlike the 720S, the McLaren P1 is a hybrid, using gasoline and electricity to produce incredible power. Its engine is a rear, mid-mounted 3.8L twin-turbocharged V8, generating 900 Nm torque and 903 brake horsepower to move the RWD coupe.
Its acceleration is just as jaw-dropping as its top speed, with the car able to go 0 to 62 mph in 2.8 seconds. This ties the McLaren P1 with the 720S (and 720S Spider) as the second-highest torque McLaren on the road, with only one model able to exceed its acceleration (as you'll see later in this list, its top speed as well).
The McLaren P1 was the first hybrid supercar released, proving the dual-power engine could compete with traditional gasoline-only racers. Only 375 of the cars were made, and they sold out almost immediately when orders were opened to the public in 2013. Considering its incredible speed and historical significance as the first hybrid supercar, you can't blame people for scooping one up as fast as possible.
3. McLaren F1 LM
After debuting in 1995, the McLaren F1 LM became the most powerful car of the 1990s and is still one of the fastest McLarens. Its top speed is 225 mph thanks to its rear mid-mounted 6.1L V12 engine that can generate 668 brake horsepower and 703 Nm torque. From a standing start, it can reach 62 mph in 3.9 seconds and 100 mph in 6.7 seconds.
Unlike the standard McLaren F1, intended to be a high-performance car for the road, the McLaren F1 LM is a stripped-down version built for the track. Speed and endurance, not comfort, are what it was made for.
Only five of the RWD coupes were initially made, most of them with a now iconic papaya orange paint job, in honor of the five McLaren F1 GTRs that completed the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995 (hence the "LM" moniker). While few have been produced, the McLaren F1 LM has certified its place in the brand's history by being its third fastest car.
2. McLaren F1
The McLaren F1 was the fastest McLaren ever made, at least up until the #1 car on this list came along. It held that record for nearly three decades, however, and was the unbeatable speedster of the McLaren brand with its 627 brake horsepower S70/2 V12 engine.
The McLaren F1 can reach an astounding top speed of 241 mph and is still widely admired as one of the greatest supercars ever built. Only a lucky few can claim to own one, as just 106 of the standard F1 were made.
The F1 in its name refers to Formula One, and clearly, the car lives up to that with its incredible speed. Its acceleration is impressive, with the McLaren F1 going 0 to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds. The model was unlike anything seen before when it came out. Several innovative techniques used to make the top-of-the-line F1, like its Airbrake, dihedral doors, and flat underbody, are still used in McLarens being currently produced.
1. McLaren Speedtail
If this were a list of McLarens with the fastest acceleration rates as opposed to the fastest top speeds, the McLaren Speedtail would still be number one – that's how impressive this incredible feat of auto engineering is. The Speedtail debuted in 2018 and is part of McLaren's Ultimate Series, following the Senna, P1, and F1.
Like with the standard F1, McLaren plans to only produce 106 Speedtails. Every single one has been pre-sold, and most will look different from each other because McLaren is pushing not just aerodynamics with the model but also customization, including color, textures, and materials.
All of that is very cool, but, of course, what makes the Speedtail so special is its speed. The rear-wheel-drive coupe has a 1,036 brake horsepower mid-mounted 4.0L V8 bi-turbo mild hybrid engine in its rear and has reached 250 mph on the test track, and it's likely it can exceed 250 mph in future tests. It has a torque of 1,150 Nm and can reach 62 mph from a standing start in three seconds and 186 mph in just 12.8 seconds, making it the fastest McLaren in terms of acceleration as well as top speed. While the Bugatti Chiron Supersport 300+ and a few other cars have gone faster, the McLaren Speedtail is the fastest hypercar with a hybrid engine to date, in addition to being the fastest and highest-torque McLaren ever made.