Mclaren 750s Spider review: 206mph supercar is ace, but one feature is pointless and neighbours will hate you

Luckily this wasn’t a proper review, how could it be? With a 2.7-second nought to 60mph time, 590 ft/lb of torque and a top speed of 206 mph, the only sane place to fully put the rear-wheel drive convertible through its paces is on a track and, unfortunately, insurance said no.

The Mclaren is, beyond any doubt, the fastest car I’ve ever driven on the road and, thankfully, my drive wasn’t a complete washout, days one and three heralding the kind of crisp, dry, autumn weather that Instagram loves. A cross country drive between Fife and Inverclyde plus some of the best - and worst - roads Fife and the Lothians can offer, provided the backdrop as I experienced what the replacement for the 720S had to offer, even if I couldn’t get close to its absolute limits.

Driving the Mclaren 750s Spider

A distinctive V8 rumble greets you on ignition and is your constant companion whether idling or in gear. The 750s experience is as much about theatre as it is performance and the score is not just an accompaniment, it’s a key plot point. The Spider, of course, has a fully retractable hard top roof. When dropped - something you can do on the move at urban speeds - you can hear the soundtrack as intended. When weather doesn’t allow, the rear windscreen can be lowered so you can hear every note and stay dry.

The Mclaren demands to be heard, however gentle it’s driven. With a light foot, it’s borderline civilised when location, traffic, or conditions, dictate lower speed. The engine noise is always there though, ensuring that if by some magic other road users haven’t spotted the car, they can’t help but hear it.

Squeeze the throttle on open roads and the V8 roars to life, unleashing its full power alongside the whine of twin turbochargers. It’s incredibly fast. But for the noise, it’s like you’re teleporting forward in great leaps and, even in the dry, the tyres struggle to transfer all that energy onto the tarmac and into forward momentum. Trying to go flat out, often resulted in wheelspin, the rear end threatening to fishtail, forcing corrective action.

As frightening as that sounds, it’s where the unbelievably composed steering comes into its own. There’s a weight to it, but it’s so, so responsive. The handling is jaw-dropping on the road and I can only imagine what it feels like on the track. The car is alive with feedback but, for the most part, goes exactly where you tell it to. Attacking the corners and there’s the slightest hint of understeer but it still feels very controllable.

Treat it with respect but, it’s fun, rather than fearsome.

Both the 7-speed SSG transmission and suspension feature three set-up modes: comfort, sport and track. I paired like for like, rather than mix and match, mostly driving in comfort mode but also testing the sport configuration. Frankly, I wasn’t brave enough to explore track mode on public roads, nor did I turn off traction control or try out launch control. In sport mode, the drama is heightened - more noise and some added pops from the exhaust, an amplified shift noise and more weight through the wheel.

Interior, comfort and tech

Our demonstrator interior was fully Alcantara with zircon and brushed iridium accents. Comfort seats are available, but ours were carbon fibre racing. With deep buckets and flank support they were surprisingly supportive on the longer drives, however, only consider them if you have narrow hips. Genuinely, I can’t see how anyone with a waist over 36 inches will be able to sit in the racing seats at all, never mind in comfort.

There’s an 8-inch, vertically mounted high-resolution touchscreen monitor, which displays everything from the sat nav, climate control, parking camera and stereo system. I found it responsive, with a sharp display, but navigating between functions could be more intuitive.

Being mid-engined, the main luggage compartment sits under the hood of the car. Surprisingly, it was a reasonable size at 150 litres. I even managed my weekly shop with four full reusable bags swallowed up comfortably. No doubt anyone watching me struggle out from under the dihedral doors made all kinds of judgements about me but, I can report that at 2,161 cms wide mirror to mirror, it does (just) fit into a standard Tesco car park space.

That’s the last I’ll say on practicality - nobody considering a McLaren as their next car is interested in miles per gallon (in the 20s throughout my test) or planning to use it for trips to the dump.

To finish though, I have some observations about what the Mclaren is like to live with:

Get used to attention

I felt like a minor celeb driving the McLaren. At traffic lights children would press their faces to car windows for a proper look. On more than one occasion I was approached by strangers who wanted to ask me about the car or have a look around. Everyone driving a Volkswagen Golf R wanted to race and several times I clocked people taking pictures.

Get used to waiting

Nobody lets you out from a junction, from slip roads or changing lanes in traffic when you are driving a supercar.

Your neighbours will grow to hate you if you work shifts

It is simply not possible to drive the Mclaren quietly and that’s bound to wear on anyone not in the car, particularly if you leave early or arrive late.

The stereo is pointless

Our test car had the upgraded 12-speaker Bowers and Wilkins audio system. While I didn’t compare with the standard Mclaren four-speaker system, this very much felt like a pointless £3,750 expense. Even cranked up fully it sounded tinny compared with the bass notes from the engine.

Unbelievably fun, theatrical and fast, the 750s is everything a supercar should be. Who cares about the stereo, the car itself was music to my ears.