The McLaren Long Tail: A Review of the Car's Upgrades and Driver Engagement

One of the most notable upgrades on the McLaren 765 LT is the large rear wing, which gives it an additional air brake effect. This upgrade is designed to enhance the car's handling and stability, particularly during high-speed cornering. However, it's worth noting that this feature may also make the car feel slightly over-assisted, especially for drivers who are still getting accustomed to its performance.

Driver Engagement: A Thrilling Experience on Track

After completing a lap around the Silverstone circuit, it becomes clear why McLaren's claim that their cars offer "driver engagement" is more than just a marketing phrase. The steering feel of the 765 LT is exceptional, with thin wheels that help to reduce feedback through the hands. In contrast to BMW's sport-tuned suspension, which can sometimes make the steering feel less precise, the McLaren's setup provides a more nuanced and responsive driving experience.

The car's brakes are also noteworthy, with immense stopping power that tightens the car beautifully. The driver feels exactly what's happening under their feet, allowing for precise control over the vehicle's trajectory. While it may take some getting used to, the 765 LT's gearing system is highly adjustable, making it easy to fine-tune the car's behavior to suit individual driving styles.

A Higher Gear: Noticeable Benefits of Shorter Ratios

One of the most significant advantages of the 765 LT's gearing system is its shorter final drive ratio. This means that when cornering, the car is in a higher gear than it would be with a standard 720S model, resulting in improved traction and responsiveness out of turns. However, this also makes the car feel slightly more aggressive and sensitive to driver input.

A Fine Balance: Judging Traction Control

McLaren's implementation of traction control on the 765 LT is another notable feature that sets it apart from other supercars. The system provides just enough assistance to help the driver avoid oversteer, but also allows for a degree of play and slip, making it easier to lose speed and regain composure under acceleration. This fine balance between assistiveness and restraint makes the 765 LT feel remarkably intuitive and responsive.

A Few Annoyances: Noteworthy Inconveniences

While the McLaren 765 LT is an exceptional car in every sense, there are a few features that may prove frustrating to some drivers. For example, the seats protrude forward of the front axle, which can make it easy to bump your elbow or catch your funny bone. Additionally, the older infotainment system can feel somewhat cheap and lacking in sophistication compared to newer models.

The Rearview Mirror: A Surprising Critique

Another peculiarity of the 765 LT is its rearview mirror, which appears to be a throwback to an earlier era of supercars. The design feels harsh and unforgiving, rather than sleek and aerodynamic, which may raise eyebrows among some enthusiasts.

The Glovebox: A Surprising Omission

One would expect that such a high-performance sports car as the McLaren 765 LT would include a glovebox, but alas it seems to have been omitted. The space where the glovebox should be is instead taken up by a small screen display, which serves more as an afterthought than a thoughtful design solution.

Racing Gloves: A Nod to Tradition

Finally, there's the issue of racing gloves, which seem woefully underrepresented on the 765 LT. One would think that such a car would include some sort of glove box or storage system for racing gloves, but it seems that this has been overlooked in favor of other priorities.

A Verdict: Is the McLaren 765 LT Worth It?

If you're lucky enough to be in the market for a new supercar and have your heart set on the McLaren 765 LT, then do yourself a favor and get behind the wheel as soon as possible. The car is an absolute thrill ride that will put a smile on even the most jaded faces. While it may not be without its quirks and flaws, the 765 LT's performance and handling make it an exceptional addition to any supercar collection.

But before you take the plunge, do yourself a favor and consider taking the car out for a spin with an instructor or experienced driver who can help you get the most out of it. With proper guidance, the 765 LT is capable of delivering truly unforgettable driving experiences that will leave even the most seasoned enthusiasts grinning from ear to ear.

And for those who are still on the fence about purchasing the McLaren 765 LT, it's worth noting that availability is limited and prices may be steep due to its exclusivity. However, if you're willing to take the plunge and join the ranks of supercar owners worldwide, then do so with confidence – the 765 LT is an exceptional car that will reward your enthusiasm and dedication for years to come.

**Five Annoying Things About the McLaren 765 LT**

1. **The Seat Protrusion**: The front seats are positioned slightly forward of the front axle, which can make it easy to bump your elbow or catch your funny bone.

2. **The Older Infotainment System**: Compared to newer models, the 765 LT's infotainment system feels somewhat cheap and lacking in sophistication.

3. **The Rearview Mirror**: The design of the rearview mirror appears harsh and unforgiving, rather than sleek and aerodynamic.

4. **No Glovebox**: In a surprising oversight, there is no glovebox on the 765 LT – a feature that would be expected to be present in such a high-performance sports car.

5. **Limited Racing Gloves Storage**: The absence of an integrated storage system for racing gloves is a notable omission, particularly given the car's emphasis on performance and handling.

**The Verdict: Is the McLaren 765 LT Worth It?**

Yes, it is worth considering purchasing a McLaren 765 LT if you're in the market for a new supercar. With its exceptional performance, handling, and driver engagement, this car has something to offer even the most discerning enthusiasts. While it may not be perfect – with some notable quirks and flaws – the 765 LT's strengths make it an attractive option for those who value speed, agility, and driving excitement above all else.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi everyone it's matt watson here from car wow no honestly it is looking it's me it's me and this is the new mclaren 765 lt it's a more hardcore focused track ready version of the already pretty blooming bonkers 720s and in this video i'm going to talk you through the upgrades over that car i'm going to take it for a spin ran silverstone gp circuit to see what it amounts to in reality now before we get into all of that please make sure you subscribe to this channel and hit the bell icon to turn your notifications on that way you will not miss a single upload buying a new car head to car wow to get offers from the uk's top dealers car wow dot co dot uk the car buying comparison site there are six major elements which make up a mclaren long tail car i'm going to talk you through all of them the first one is aerodynamics so the name long tail means the car is longer than before and part of that is at the front so it's actually 48 millimeters longer here at the front because this nose is more pointy you've got this extended front splitter here in fact the whole front of the car has been redesigned for improved aero even the eye sockets a little bit more closed like it's scowling but that improves the aero as well one of the most noticeable changes on the 765 are those vents on the wheel arches when the wheels are spinning they create quite a lot of turbulent air and it gets trapped in the wheel well and create to lift so those vents let that turbulent air out which is good also you get some new dual blades here these help smooth the air down the side of the car to reduce drag and then you have these side skirts as well which then feed air into this new scoop to help cool the engine here at the back you've got a new rear bumper a new extended rear diffuser which helps reduce turbulence and improve aerodynamics and the back end of this car actually sticks out nine millimeters more than that of the 720s so it's increased slightly though it's funny they call it a long tail yeah it's actually the front which has been extended further hey anyway there's a tail to tell about these bits here that have been added on now what they do is square off the back end of the car apparently the car's arrow would be better if the back end was completely square but the engineers say that well they'd like to do that it wouldn't look so aesthetically pleasing and this is a real nice rear end isn't it especially with this extra mesh they fit into the car here which all helps improve cooling and airflow and then there's the wing it's 20 larger than on the 720s in fact it's so large they have to put a little cutout in it there so that when it's sticking up you can still see out of your rear view mirror see you've just overtaken also this wing sticks up even further when you're in normal racing mode and combined with all the other aero stuff it helps provide 200 kilos of downforce at 150 miles an hour which is 25 more downforce than you get on the 720s the second key feature of the mclaren long tail car is reduced weight so the 765 lt gets carbon fiber racing seats and they're another ones that you get in the center they do have a unique pattern for this car and they save 18 kilos the ultra lightweight forged alloy wheels with titanium bolts save 22 kilos overall the glass for the windscreen and the side windows is slightly thinner and at the back here that's polycarbonate yeah it sounds cheap but it's actually expensive and it saves in total all that six kilos a further 2.5 kilos has been saved by building the central tunnel and the door cards out of carbon fiber and getting into the normal door pockets and replacing them with this elasticated pouch there's a full titanium exhaust system which saves 3.8 kilos now mccarran could actually have just made it as a single piece exhaust but they've given it four individual exhaust pipes because apparently that improves the sound but i'll be the judge of that in a bit anyway moving on wait a minute there's no floor carpets in here what kind of poverty spec is this oh i know it saves 2.4 kilos all the new body panels where they look carbon fiber or not are indeed carbon fiber and that combined with the special meshing at the back of the car helps save 14.3 kilograms mclaren has used a little helper springs in the suspension which help reduce the weight by further 1.5 kilos the car also gets a lightweight lithium-ion battery which saves a further three kilos i don't know what it is with front beats but i just can't resist getting into them deletion of the audio system saves 1.5 kilos and if you remove the air conditioning that saves 10 kilos though if you're a wuss you can actually have them put back in sadly some weight has been added back to the car with upgraded brakes and a high pressure fuel pump they add five kilograms in total but still overall the total saving is 80 kilos over a standard 720s which is actually more weight than me it's a big deal the third feature of a mclaren longtail is power so this has a four liter twin turbo v8 that's been tuned to 765 horsepower and 800 newton meters of torque so more powerful and has more torque than the normal 720 it's got forged pistons loads of stuff done to it you don't want to know about that let's just see how well it launches we're in launch mode for throttle boost building boost is ready release break off we go more traction boy mate i'm there second this thing is just flying my god oh wow well that was certainly very very quick traction was a bit of an issue the surface is a little bit damp but once this thing hooked up you could just see the numbers on the speedo just taking off another thing to point out is that it actually has a shorter final drive than the normal 720 which helps with the acceleration and it's got a closer ratio gearbox as well i really want to see how quick this is in a drag race could this be the first sub 10 second car on car wow make sure you subscribed and hit the bell icon because that video will be coming soon now we come to the fourth key feature of a mccarran long tail car and that is exclusivity and i can keep this pretty short and sweet you see with a starting price of 280 000 pounds it's already going to be pretty exclusive but the fact is mclaren will only make 765 of them so one for every horsepower the engine produces if you want to make your 765 lt even more exclusive you can take it to the guys at mclaren special operations and go for this full exposed carbon look at this it's absolutely gorgeous now the car's body panels are carbon anyway so why are you paying extra to just have it exposed and quite a lot extra so for this you're gonna have to spend an extra hundred thousand pounds over the normal 280 grand the car starting price the reason why you're paying that is because when the car's painted you can't see the weave and they can just put any old weave of carbon on there still just as strong it just doesn't look as good but when you're looking at it they have to line up the weave to make it look as good as possible and they've done that and it's absolutely exquisite oh i'd like that very much if you're wondering why i'm wearing a mask it's so that i don't infect this car because it's just so special the fifth key feature of a mclean long tail is track focus dynamics let's start off with the brakes so you get the mono block six piston calipers from the center and they have a special little vent on them which sends air across the front and around the back to cool the pads obviously you get common ceramic discs as standard but if you pay extra you can get the discs off the center so they take six months to make four months of that they are in an oven at a thousand degrees to help them cure as a result they can resist fade by up to four times as much as normal carbon ceramic disc brakes the steering system has a quicker ratio with a stiffer torsion bar for improved responsiveness the car suspension system has been reworked so the active dampers and active anti-roll system has been recalibrated you've got stiffer springs all round at the front it rides five millimeters low to the ground the track is also wider by six millimeters here at the front and all that helps improve the grip as does the fact you now get pirelli trafalgar tires as standard last but by no means least is the fact that this large rear wing gives it even more of an air brake effect but what do all these upgrades actually translate to out on the track well that brings you on to the final feature of the mclaren long tail finally then we come to driver engagement and i'm at silverstone circuit here in great britain and i'll be driving part of the grand prix track let's see how much fun this car is now on track one thing i like about mclaren's is the steering feel part of that is helped by the thin wheel bmws for instance have overly fat wheels so you don't get such a sensation through your hands this thing shifts like crazy but it doesn't just shift well these brakes are immense tightens the car beautifully you really do feel exactly what's going on through your bottom and you can adjust if you get it wrong it's very adjustable we've got to stay brave here yes the punch from the engine really does stand out and you always just seem to be on boost that must be something to do with the fact that you're well nice slide there you've got a lower final drive gearing shorter and the ratios are closer than the normal 720s so you really do notice that means that when you're going through corners you're actually in a higher gear than you'd otherwise normally be in oh the traction out of the turns is so good i've got to be honest with you though this car is potentially a little bit too quick for me right now it's something that if you're lucky enough to be able to buy one you are going to want to get some time on track with an instructor to really get the most out of it actually one thing i like about mclarens is they always judge the traction control just so blooming well so it gives you a little bit of play a little bit of slip but it's there to help you out oh there's gear shifts there's like instant instant instant if you buy one of these please take it on track don't just have it as a collector's piece you'll be missing out a bit of a tank slapper though of course if you do make sure you've got it short just in case you make it there a lot all the features of a mclaren long tail this has got them in spades especially the driver engagement i can certainly vouch for that i've just been having an absolute blast in this car but in the interest of balanced motoring journalism i should point out that mclaren doesn't have the best reliability record and that brings me on to five annoying things about the mclaren 765 lt the way these seats protrude here it's easy to just bang your elbow on it i just did it and caught my funny bone so so badly i've got electric hand now and i can't even feel my little finger this is mclaren's older infotainment system you get a new one in things like the gt quite frankly it's a bit crap look at this rear view mirror it's just so horrible and cheap like something out of a statue not a mclaren supercar i mean come on guys spend some money on the mirror there's no glove box surely there's space for one there i know it's a super sports car but still what about your racing gloves well the reversing camera is okay and you do get these lines here for guiding you into a space they don't turn when you turn the steering wheel like they do on many other cars to really help guide you in and you can kind of do that on something this wide and with such poor visibility so then what's my final verdict on the new mclaren 765 lt should you avoid it should you consider it should you shortlist it or should you just go right ahead and buy it well if you want to go right ahead and buy it you need to be quick because there's only 765 of them and they're selling out very very quickly not surprising because it's an absolutely amazing and exhilarating car i'm sure it'd be collectible but if you do buy one don't just stick it into storage drive it because you will love it i love it i hope you enjoyed the video if you did please give it a like also let me know in the comments below which you'd rather have this mclaren 765 lt or the mercedes mg gt black series now if you want to watch some more videos then click over there it might be over there or it's over there anyway click on the video windows and if you'd like to subscribe to the car wow newsletter where we'll keep you up to date with all the latest new car news and reviews in between the uploads of these videos just click on the box it's there i think i've got it right there yeah thanks for watchinghi everyone it's matt watson here from car wow no honestly it is looking it's me it's me and this is the new mclaren 765 lt it's a more hardcore focused track ready version of the already pretty blooming bonkers 720s and in this video i'm going to talk you through the upgrades over that car i'm going to take it for a spin ran silverstone gp circuit to see what it amounts to in reality now before we get into all of that please make sure you subscribe to this channel and hit the bell icon to turn your notifications on that way you will not miss a single upload buying a new car head to car wow to get offers from the uk's top dealers car wow dot co dot uk the car buying comparison site there are six major elements which make up a mclaren long tail car i'm going to talk you through all of them the first one is aerodynamics so the name long tail means the car is longer than before and part of that is at the front so it's actually 48 millimeters longer here at the front because this nose is more pointy you've got this extended front splitter here in fact the whole front of the car has been redesigned for improved aero even the eye sockets a little bit more closed like it's scowling but that improves the aero as well one of the most noticeable changes on the 765 are those vents on the wheel arches when the wheels are spinning they create quite a lot of turbulent air and it gets trapped in the wheel well and create to lift so those vents let that turbulent air out which is good also you get some new dual blades here these help smooth the air down the side of the car to reduce drag and then you have these side skirts as well which then feed air into this new scoop to help cool the engine here at the back you've got a new rear bumper a new extended rear diffuser which helps reduce turbulence and improve aerodynamics and the back end of this car actually sticks out nine millimeters more than that of the 720s so it's increased slightly though it's funny they call it a long tail yeah it's actually the front which has been extended further hey anyway there's a tail to tell about these bits here that have been added on now what they do is square off the back end of the car apparently the car's arrow would be better if the back end was completely square but the engineers say that well they'd like to do that it wouldn't look so aesthetically pleasing and this is a real nice rear end isn't it especially with this extra mesh they fit into the car here which all helps improve cooling and airflow and then there's the wing it's 20 larger than on the 720s in fact it's so large they have to put a little cutout in it there so that when it's sticking up you can still see out of your rear view mirror see you've just overtaken also this wing sticks up even further when you're in normal racing mode and combined with all the other aero stuff it helps provide 200 kilos of downforce at 150 miles an hour which is 25 more downforce than you get on the 720s the second key feature of the mclaren long tail car is reduced weight so the 765 lt gets carbon fiber racing seats and they're another ones that you get in the center they do have a unique pattern for this car and they save 18 kilos the ultra lightweight forged alloy wheels with titanium bolts save 22 kilos overall the glass for the windscreen and the side windows is slightly thinner and at the back here that's polycarbonate yeah it sounds cheap but it's actually expensive and it saves in total all that six kilos a further 2.5 kilos has been saved by building the central tunnel and the door cards out of carbon fiber and getting into the normal door pockets and replacing them with this elasticated pouch there's a full titanium exhaust system which saves 3.8 kilos now mccarran could actually have just made it as a single piece exhaust but they've given it four individual exhaust pipes because apparently that improves the sound but i'll be the judge of that in a bit anyway moving on wait a minute there's no floor carpets in here what kind of poverty spec is this oh i know it saves 2.4 kilos all the new body panels where they look carbon fiber or not are indeed carbon fiber and that combined with the special meshing at the back of the car helps save 14.3 kilograms mclaren has used a little helper springs in the suspension which help reduce the weight by further 1.5 kilos the car also gets a lightweight lithium-ion battery which saves a further three kilos i don't know what it is with front beats but i just can't resist getting into them deletion of the audio system saves 1.5 kilos and if you remove the air conditioning that saves 10 kilos though if you're a wuss you can actually have them put back in sadly some weight has been added back to the car with upgraded brakes and a high pressure fuel pump they add five kilograms in total but still overall the total saving is 80 kilos over a standard 720s which is actually more weight than me it's a big deal the third feature of a mclaren longtail is power so this has a four liter twin turbo v8 that's been tuned to 765 horsepower and 800 newton meters of torque so more powerful and has more torque than the normal 720 it's got forged pistons loads of stuff done to it you don't want to know about that let's just see how well it launches we're in launch mode for throttle boost building boost is ready release break off we go more traction boy mate i'm there second this thing is just flying my god oh wow well that was certainly very very quick traction was a bit of an issue the surface is a little bit damp but once this thing hooked up you could just see the numbers on the speedo just taking off another thing to point out is that it actually has a shorter final drive than the normal 720 which helps with the acceleration and it's got a closer ratio gearbox as well i really want to see how quick this is in a drag race could this be the first sub 10 second car on car wow make sure you subscribed and hit the bell icon because that video will be coming soon now we come to the fourth key feature of a mccarran long tail car and that is exclusivity and i can keep this pretty short and sweet you see with a starting price of 280 000 pounds it's already going to be pretty exclusive but the fact is mclaren will only make 765 of them so one for every horsepower the engine produces if you want to make your 765 lt even more exclusive you can take it to the guys at mclaren special operations and go for this full exposed carbon look at this it's absolutely gorgeous now the car's body panels are carbon anyway so why are you paying extra to just have it exposed and quite a lot extra so for this you're gonna have to spend an extra hundred thousand pounds over the normal 280 grand the car starting price the reason why you're paying that is because when the car's painted you can't see the weave and they can just put any old weave of carbon on there still just as strong it just doesn't look as good but when you're looking at it they have to line up the weave to make it look as good as possible and they've done that and it's absolutely exquisite oh i'd like that very much if you're wondering why i'm wearing a mask it's so that i don't infect this car because it's just so special the fifth key feature of a mclean long tail is track focus dynamics let's start off with the brakes so you get the mono block six piston calipers from the center and they have a special little vent on them which sends air across the front and around the back to cool the pads obviously you get common ceramic discs as standard but if you pay extra you can get the discs off the center so they take six months to make four months of that they are in an oven at a thousand degrees to help them cure as a result they can resist fade by up to four times as much as normal carbon ceramic disc brakes the steering system has a quicker ratio with a stiffer torsion bar for improved responsiveness the car suspension system has been reworked so the active dampers and active anti-roll system has been recalibrated you've got stiffer springs all round at the front it rides five millimeters low to the ground the track is also wider by six millimeters here at the front and all that helps improve the grip as does the fact you now get pirelli trafalgar tires as standard last but by no means least is the fact that this large rear wing gives it even more of an air brake effect but what do all these upgrades actually translate to out on the track well that brings you on to the final feature of the mclaren long tail finally then we come to driver engagement and i'm at silverstone circuit here in great britain and i'll be driving part of the grand prix track let's see how much fun this car is now on track one thing i like about mclaren's is the steering feel part of that is helped by the thin wheel bmws for instance have overly fat wheels so you don't get such a sensation through your hands this thing shifts like crazy but it doesn't just shift well these brakes are immense tightens the car beautifully you really do feel exactly what's going on through your bottom and you can adjust if you get it wrong it's very adjustable we've got to stay brave here yes the punch from the engine really does stand out and you always just seem to be on boost that must be something to do with the fact that you're well nice slide there you've got a lower final drive gearing shorter and the ratios are closer than the normal 720s so you really do notice that means that when you're going through corners you're actually in a higher gear than you'd otherwise normally be in oh the traction out of the turns is so good i've got to be honest with you though this car is potentially a little bit too quick for me right now it's something that if you're lucky enough to be able to buy one you are going to want to get some time on track with an instructor to really get the most out of it actually one thing i like about mclarens is they always judge the traction control just so blooming well so it gives you a little bit of play a little bit of slip but it's there to help you out oh there's gear shifts there's like instant instant instant if you buy one of these please take it on track don't just have it as a collector's piece you'll be missing out a bit of a tank slapper though of course if you do make sure you've got it short just in case you make it there a lot all the features of a mclaren long tail this has got them in spades especially the driver engagement i can certainly vouch for that i've just been having an absolute blast in this car but in the interest of balanced motoring journalism i should point out that mclaren doesn't have the best reliability record and that brings me on to five annoying things about the mclaren 765 lt the way these seats protrude here it's easy to just bang your elbow on it i just did it and caught my funny bone so so badly i've got electric hand now and i can't even feel my little finger this is mclaren's older infotainment system you get a new one in things like the gt quite frankly it's a bit crap look at this rear view mirror it's just so horrible and cheap like something out of a statue not a mclaren supercar i mean come on guys spend some money on the mirror there's no glove box surely there's space for one there i know it's a super sports car but still what about your racing gloves well the reversing camera is okay and you do get these lines here for guiding you into a space they don't turn when you turn the steering wheel like they do on many other cars to really help guide you in and you can kind of do that on something this wide and with such poor visibility so then what's my final verdict on the new mclaren 765 lt should you avoid it should you consider it should you shortlist it or should you just go right ahead and buy it well if you want to go right ahead and buy it you need to be quick because there's only 765 of them and they're selling out very very quickly not surprising because it's an absolutely amazing and exhilarating car i'm sure it'd be collectible but if you do buy one don't just stick it into storage drive it because you will love it i love it i hope you enjoyed the video if you did please give it a like also let me know in the comments below which you'd rather have this mclaren 765 lt or the mercedes mg gt black series now if you want to watch some more videos then click over there it might be over there or it's over there anyway click on the video windows and if you'd like to subscribe to the car wow newsletter where we'll keep you up to date with all the latest new car news and reviews in between the uploads of these videos just click on the box it's there i think i've got it right there yeah thanks for watching\n"