Hang on, is that a Lotus?
Nope. The colour scheme might scream of the John Player Special Lotus Formula One cars of the seventies, but this is a McLaren, the one-off 720S Dubai that's going to be revealed at the Dubai Motor Show, naturally.
What's so special about it?
Mechanically? Nothing. Although having said that, the 720S has already proved itself to be pretty special as standard. The Dubai edition keeps the same twin-turbo V8 engine and has the same 212mph top speed as any other 720S.
What's unique here is the colour scheme and details. Finished in Zenith Black, the McLaren Special Operations (MSO) team have gone to town on this one. It gets gold-colour alloy wheels and actual, real, 24-carat gold lining the engine bay, just like the original McLaren F1 supercar. Inside there's a black Alcantara-and-leather interior, with carbon fibre everywhere and fillets of satin-finish gold trim for the steering wheel and gearshift paddles.
Anything else?
Oh yes. Check out that rear wing. On it, you'll find an inspirational quote from McLaren founder Bruce McLaren. 'Life is measured in achievement, not in years alone' is picked out on the wing in gold Arabic script, stylised to look like the skyline of Dubai.
Andreas Bareis, Managing Director Middle East, Africa & Latin America for McLaren Automotive, explained: "The quote from Bruce McLaren rings true not only of the history of McLaren, but also the achievements of the UAE and the Gulf states over the last four decades. The UAE and the region are very important to McLaren, not only in terms of our client base, but also because of the support from our shareholders. This car pays tribute to that."
The car apparently took more than 120 hours to complete, with that unique rear wing taking up 30 hours all by itself.
Neil Briscoe - 14 Nov 2017