What's all this about?
McLaren must have a lot of spare carbon fibre knocking around its Woking workshops.
Why's that?
Because two of its four Geneva Motor Show stars will be absolutely covered in the stuff. And they're not just any old McLarens, either, but two of the most desirable, limited edition models: namely, one of the 375 road-going P1s and an example of the 500 675LT Spiders built.
What has happened to them?
McLaren Special Operations (MSO) has done the work on both and we'll start with the P1. It has what MSO calls a 'full visual carbon fibre body', which means everything you can see is clothed in hand-laid carbon that features a Lio Blue tinted lacquer. P1 customers have been able to order this since the start of 2016, although this is the first time it has been seen in public. And with its gloss black wheels, carbon black Alcantara interior with contrast blue stitching, and a 24-carat gold exhaust heatshield (yes, that's a nod to the seminal McLaren F1 of the 1990s) - the P1 by MSO is a very special machine.
How about that 675LT Spider, then?
An MSO Defined special shade called Ceramic Grey clothes much of the Spider's bodywork, although there's more carbon here than you'd get on what we can only regrettably refer to as the 'standard car'. Spot it on the retractable hardtop (saves a kilo, can be operated up to 25mph), the louvres in the front wings, on the underside of the Longtail Airbrake and on the front bumper end plates, side skirts, side intakes and rear bumper. Inside, black Alcantara racing seats with Xenon Yellow stitching are complemented by various bits of switchgear painted in Solis, a gold colour only available on the 675LT Spider. MSO's take on the rapid roadster also involves a gold exhaust heatshield. Performance, despite that 1kg weight saving in the roof (lord...), remains the same as usual; which is to say, stupidly bloody fast, with 0-62mph in 2.9 seconds, 0-124mph in 8.1 seconds and a 204mph top whack.
Is that it for McLaren's Geneva offerings, then?
No, the 650S GT3 race car will be on display, as will the latest, as yet unnamed addition to the Sports Series of McLarens.
Matt Robinson - 17 Feb 2016
