The 6 Most Interesting Longtails Ever Produced
McLaren 765LT (2020)
McLaren’s 720S has always been this writer’s personal response when asked, “Which supercar would you actually buy?” (McLarens have, naturally, long been awarded Robb Report’s Car of the Year, including the 750S, too.) But perhaps that’s because I hadn’t spent any time in the 765LT. A more hardcore, track-focused sports car with 45 more horsepower, 22 more lb-ft of twist, 25 percent more downforce, and a wilder engine note? Uh, yes, please.
The 765LT—clocking in at 2.2-inches longer than the 720S—boasts 15 percent quicker acceleration, noticeable from the first serious depression of the accelerator. Even at a quarter-throttle, the 765LT pulls like a runaway train. Bury your foot and white-knuckle the Alcántara-wrapped carbon fiber wheel for dear might. As you blur idyllic country back roads in upstate New York at dizzying speeds, you have just enough time to note how lively and poised the steering feels before the next corner arrives. No need to lift, though. The 765 feels vacuum sealed to the asphalt.
Twist the powertrain mode knob to Track, watch the digital dash retract itself to give you a cleaner view, then activate Launch mode via a console button, and prepare to have your sense of speed lightly warped. Mash the brake, floor the gas, and the 765LT will build boost before instructing you to let loose when ready. The shimmying scramble off the line as the coupe tries to best translate 755 ponies to the road is equal parts satisfying and exhilarating. Sixty arrives in 2.7 seconds, perhaps less. Anyone riding shotgun will ask for seconds, and by day’s end, the 765’s Pirelli P-Zeros have left a solid strip of 11s.
Unlike the seven-figure museum pieces that preceded it in this list, the 765LT represents the accessible longtail—if $382,500-plus can be called accessible. We’ll likely never pilot a $20 million F1 GTR Longtail or experience Moby Dick’s Le Mans dominance firsthand, but the 765LT delivers that same elongated purpose and performance in a package you can actually order, drive, and perhaps most importantly, enjoy without requiring a racing license.
