What's this all about?

You're looking at the replacement for McLaren's seminal 650S. This is the Super Series' latest addition, it's called the 720S and it represents a new era in the Woking company's ethos that will inevitably shape all the other cars in its exalted range. The 720S was revealed, naturally, at the Geneva Motor Show.

Wow! Can we start with the exterior?

With a front-end dominated by those 'eye-socket' headlights, the McLaren is certainly dramatic. It has a beautiful, teardrop-esque glasshouse and many of the features we've come to know and love from McLaren, such as a rear wing that generates 30 per cent more downforce than the item on the 650S and which also features an airbrake that - along with the 'regular' discs and pads behind the wheels - helps to drag the 720S from 124mph to a complete stop in 4.6 seconds, or 117 metres. Yikes! But peer along the sides of the car - notice anything missing?

Where are the big air intakes necessary for cooling?

They're not needed. Clever, double-skin dihedral doors channel air into the deep door ducts you can see lower down the sides of the Macca. Despite having clean flanks, cooling performance is said to be 15 per cent better than that of the 650S.

OK, what are those door ducts actually cooling?

A new engine. Mid-mounted, as ever, this is the M840T - it replaces the old 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 M838T that has seen service in all of McLaren's products (in one form or another) from 2011 to now, and as such you can probably work out from its internal engine coding what has changed: capacity is up. It's still a twin-turbo V8, but now it stands at 4.0 litres, while it benefits from 41 per cent new componentry compared to the M838T, including all-new turbochargers and intercoolers.

How powerful is it?

It is ridiculously potent. As the car's name suggests, peak power is 720hp and that's accompanied by 770Nm of torque, all driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. This results in eye-popping performance, as the McLaren 720S will storm from 0-62mph in 2.9 seconds, before passing 124mph just shy of five seconds later on its way to a top speed of 212mph. Incredibly, McLaren says it can return up to 26.4mpg with CO₂ emissions of just 249g/km, which - for a supercar like this - is not bad going at all.

What's the handling like?

McLaren says it will be better even than the 650S, because the aerodynamically optimised exterior couples with a weight-loss programme that sees the lightest 720S clock in at 1,283kg. The British company has also lowered the centre-of-gravity of the car by around three per cent, so this could be one sensationally rewarding thing to drive, beyond its obvious talent of ballistic straight-line pace.

And how about the interior?

There's a driver-focused cabin, featuring high-quality leathers and aluminium switchgear, while the instrument cluster is a shapeshifter - it can be in its larger, deployed format for road use, or slimmed down to a more focused display when you're on track. An eight-inch portrait touchscreen is neatly integrated into the centre console, as well.

When does it go on sale?

McLaren says it is available now and first deliveries will commence in May, which is quick work. Prices should be around five per cent more than the 650S, on average, so expect the 720S to start from around £205,000.